Behind All The Masks
by lilagyptian
Summary: SetoOC pairing. Seto is now out of high school and his business is great but someone is trying to ruin him. Who is out to get him and why?
1. Girls?

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Seto leaned back in the seat of his limo and rested his hands on his laptop. It had been another busy day a Kaiba Corp and Seto had, as always, decided to work late that night. He laid his head back against the seat and let his mind wander for the first time that day. It didn't wander far though because all he thought about was his dueling deck. He pulled it out and shuffled through it. He found one of his blue eye white dragons and stared at it. The colour of the dragon's eyes matched his own perfectly. He put the deck away and looked forward again.  
  
Why was the driver taking so long to get home?  
  
He pressed the button on the panel next to him, which caused the window that sectioned him off from the driver to slide down. He suddenly became very cautious because in the front seat his driver was being held at gunpoint by some thug. He was being car jacked.  
  
The thug looked back at him. Apparently he'd been unaware that there was a passenger. "What the hell?" The thug shouted.  
  
"This doesn't seem very fair." Seto said keeping a cool and calm tone of voice. He then reached under the seat and pulled out a handgun from underneath. "There we go." He said and pointed the gun at the thug.  
  
The thug began to panic. He turned the gun back to the driver's head. "Put the gun down or I'll shoot." The thug yelled.  
  
Seto gave a half smile. "You think I care about that pathetic driver." He scoffed. "He's more than expendable."  
  
This was far from the truth. He rather liked the man sitting behind the wheel but he figured this might scare the mugger away. It worked. "Stop the car!" The thug ordered. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and the man jumped out of the side door and ran.  
  
The driver appeared to be very nervous. "Good work Allen." Seto said. "Don't think I'd have actually let him shoot you." The driver didn't seem all that convinced. "I'd actually like to thank you for remaining so calm about it." Seto added. "You'll be getting an extra bonus and a free two week vacation paid."  
  
This seemed to make the driver feel better. "Thank you Mr. Kaiba." He said.  
  
They arrived at the mansion and Seto stepped out and opened the front door. He barely got both of his feet in before Mokuba tackled him.  
  
"Big brother!" Mokuba shouted as he tackled his brother.  
  
"Hey Mokuba." Seto gave him a soft smile that he only saved for him. "How was your day?"  
  
"It was great!" Mokuba shouted. "I've got a girlfriend!"  
  
"A girlfriend?" Seto asked.  
  
"Ya. She's so cool. Her name is Cindy and she has curly brown hair and." Mokuba noticed the odd look on his brother's face. "Seto? What's wrong?"  
  
Seto replied. "Nothings wrong. I'm just hungry. Is there any dinner left?" Seto asked.  
  
Mokuba nodded and dragged his brother into the kitchen. Something really was bothering Seto. Mokuba had a girlfriend? Was he too young for that? Even Seto didn't have a girlfriend. True he's had a couple dates in his life but they were all the same. Same predictable girls, some just thought he was cute, most wanted his money and not one of them had impressed him at all. He was kind of depressed that his little brother was having a more successful love life than he was. Seto was 20 now and doing very well in life but his love life on the other hand was pretty much a big blank.  
  
Seto shook his head. Who needs a girlfriend? She would only get in the way of his work. His company was doing really well now and he couldn't let some girl interfere with that. He was fine, he was better than fine. Everything was perfect.  
  
He shook his head and finally started to pay attention to his brother again. He was going on and on about this Cindy girl. He was barely taking a breath. She really must have been something. Mokuba set out a plate of reheated macaroni and cheese for Seto, which he ate as he listened to his brother intently.  
  
Fifteen minutes later Mokuba went into the living room and crashed in front of the TV. Seto decided to join him for the movie. Mokuba picked out 'Beauty and the Beast'. He thought this was an odd choice. Even for Mokuba. He asked him why he picked it.  
  
Mokuba sighed. "Belle looks like Cindy."  
  
Seto laughed. His brother really was lovesick. They watched the movie and then both of them went to their rooms.  
  
Seto stayed up and did some work on the computer in his room. He had his Internet messenger system on while he worked and it started to beep. Seto looked at the name on the screen. The screen name GrlMgnt was lit up on the screen. Seto grinned. "Joey." He said to himself.  
  
It felt like ages since he'd been in high school but he did remember most of the people. Especially Joey. He used to hate him so much. But after all they'd been through in the last couple of years though the two of them had become good friends. Maybe even best friends. Well, in Seto's world, Joey was definitely up there on the scale of people he liked. He was still friends with the others too. But he never let it interfere with his work. Nothing interfered.  
  
GrlMgnt started to send him messages:  
  
GrlMgnt: How r u?  
  
BEWD: Fine  
  
GrlMgnt: Same old Kaiba. You are even abrupt over the Internet.  
  
BEWD: What do you want Joey?  
  
GrlMgnt: I'd like to know what you're doing tomorrow night.  
  
BEWD: Working.  
  
GrlMgnt: On a Saturday night? Come on Kaiba.  
  
BEWD: What does it matter?  
  
GrlMgnt: Because you're my friend. I can't stand to see one of my pals working on a Sat. night. It isn't right.  
  
BEWD: I've done it before.  
  
GrlMgnt: It's not healthy for a twenty year old man such as yourself to coop himself up.  
  
BEWD: So what should I do about it then?  
  
GrlMgnt: Come out clubbing with Tristan and me 2morrow.  
  
BEWD: I don't club.  
  
GrlMgnt: Come on. 1 club. Pleaz?  
  
BEWD: No.  
  
GrlMgnt: I'll get you a dueling date with Yami.  
  
BEWD: No.  
  
GrlMgnt: Come on. Be a pal.  
  
BEWD: No.  
  
GrlMgnt: Why not?  
  
BEWD: I told you. Work.  
  
GrlMgnt: You are so full of s#!t Kaiba. You're probably ahead in your work by like a week.  
  
BEWD: So?  
  
GrlMgnt: It isn't healthy.  
  
BEWD: If I go will you leave me alone and let me get back to my work?  
  
GrlMgnt: Sure.  
  
BEWD: Fine. I'll go.  
  
GrlMgnt: Great! We'll pick you up @ 7.  
  
BEWD: Fine.  
  
GrlMgnt: C U L8R!  
  
BEWD: Bye.  
  
Seto logged off and shut off the computer. He didn't feel like working anymore. He was kind of tired anyway. He changed out of his clothes and crawled into bed.  
  
THE NEXT DAY  
  
Seto woke up and went down stairs for breakfast. He found Mokuba already awake. He looked up at Seto. "Morning big brother."  
  
"Good morning Mokuba. What are you up to today?" Seto asked.  
  
Mokuba blushed a little. "I was going to ask you if Cindy could come over. I told her about our pool and she asked if she could come over and swim sometime so I was wondering if today was okay."  
  
Seto sat down in front of his brother. Was this like a little date? Well, at least he could keep an eye on them this way.  
  
"Okay Mokuba." Seto nodded.  
  
Mokuba leapt up from his chair and hugged Seto from around the waist. "Oh thank you big brother! I'll tell her to be around about two okay?" He asked.  
  
"Sure. In that case, I'm going to go for a run this morning." Seto told Mokuba. He headed out the door. "I'll be back in about and hour."  
  
"K. Have fun big brother." Mokuba yelled after him.  
  
Seto had changed into a jogging suit and a pair of runners and went to the park. He started to jog down one of the trails. Other runners ran past him as he ran past others. He began to feel the burning sensations in his muscles. He became bored with the jogging and stopped paying attention to his surroundings. He felt the morning's cool air against his face. He wasn't that fond of the morning. He liked it better at night. He thought the world was far more interesting at night. A whole other world comes alive at night and those of the morning lock themselves away till the sun rises again. All of them afraid of the nightlife. Seto wasn't afraid. He embraced it. He loved walking down the streets at night. He intimidated even most of the nighttime creatures. But the main reason he loved the night was because of the stars. He wasn't much of an out doors person but one thing he did love outside were the stars. When his parents had been around they would go to a cottage every summer and sit and watch the stars at night. I was one of his most cherished moments that he kept locked up deep inside.  
  
Mokuba wasn't as big of a fan of the stars. He didn't have that connection. Mokuba would have been no older than 5, possibly six the last time they went to that cottage. Before the big accident. Seto felt himself shudder at the thought of it. This brought him back to reality. He became aware of the pounding in his head of the blood rushing through him. He'd been running at least fifteen minutes. He decided he could probably head home now.  
  
He began to run down one of the streets toward the Kaiba Mansion and notice a young woman and two men sitting on the side of the street. The girl had a guitar that she was playing and had the case open in front of her. People were pitching coins and small bills into the case. The one man played along on a little bongo drum while the other shook a pair of shakers. "Paved paradise, put up a parking lot." The girl sang in a sultry voice. "A pink hotel a boutique and a swinging hot spot. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Paved paradise, put up a parking lot."  
  
As Seto got closer he began to walk he stopped for a moment to watch the little makeshift band. He studied the girl. She was lovely. She had intense green eyes and short chopped hair. She had spiked her jet-black hair out in every direction possible creating a bushy look to her. Her deep tan skin shone in the sunlight. Seto felt guilty for staring. He began to walk by and noticed the girl was looking at him. He stared back for a moment and then reached into his pocket. He pulled out a bill and tossed it into the guitar case. The girl gave him and smile and he continued on his way. "Paved paradise put up a parking lot."  
  
End of chapter 1  
  
Story hasn't really gone anywhere yet I know but the plot will pick up soon I promise. Please review.  
  
PS I will write the story on Ishisu and Seto soon. 


	2. Clubbing

Lila: Well, time to get back to writing about Seto.  
  
Joey: When are you gonna write about me.  
  
Lila: Eventually.  
  
Joey: I can't wait that long!  
  
Seto: Sit dog. It's my turn right now.  
  
Joey: I can't believe you picked Kaiba over me. *Whimpers*  
  
Lila: Don't take it personal Joey. You'll get your turn.  
  
Seto: So sit!  
  
Joey: Shut Up Kaiba!  
  
Lila: *Sigh* Some one just do the disclaimer already.  
  
Seto: Lila Doesn't own me or any of the other Yu-gi-oh characters or any rights to the show. Although she has tried to lock us up in cages before and.  
  
Lila: That's enough!  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Seto sat on the edge of his bed and stared at himself in the mirror. He couldn't believe he'd actually accepted to go out with them to this club. This wasn't him! He could just call and say he was sick but he knew Joey wouldn't buy that. He'd just keep pestering him.  
  
Seto let out a deep sigh and adjusted his shirt. He thought he looked pretty good. He was wearing back jeans and a black T-shirt. The T-shirt had a large neon yellow stripe running across the front of the chest. It definitely wasn't his regular style but he figured he should try to blend in. Just then he heard a blaring car horn going off on the front of the ground. "Joey." He said to himself.  
  
He stood up and heading out to the main hall. He picked up his wallet and jacket then felt the gentle tug on his shirt. He looked down and saw Mokuba staring up at him.  
  
"Try to have some fun Seto." Mokuba said.  
  
Seto gave him a warm smile and patted him on the back. "I'll try." He told him. Seto then walked out the door and saw Tristan and Joey both dressed up and leaning against their car. "What do you think of my new ride?" Joey asked Seto.  
  
"It's new? It looks like it's going to fall apart." Seto said as he eyed up the old firebird.  
  
Joey snorted. "Not all of us are as blessed as you Kaiba." Joey said. "We have to worry about paying our tuition at college. This thing to me is like all of your precious technology is to you."  
  
Tristan grinned. "Good to see you Seto."  
  
"Hey Tristan." Seto said back. The tone of his voice wasn't cold, but it wasn't very warm either.  
  
"Well, hop into my baby then Kaiba." Joey said as he turned on the ignition. The car whined as he turned it on. Seto climbed in and they pulled away.  
  
"So where are we going?" Seto asked.  
  
"We found a new club on Main Street." Joey said. "It's supposed to be really hot."  
  
"It's called 'The Blue Laser'." Tristan told him.  
  
"I think I know the place you're talking about." Seto said. "But remember. Only one club. That's it."  
  
"Fine." Joey groaned.  
  
The car pulled over into a parking lot and the three hopped out and walked down the street to the club. When they finally got in Seto studied the inside of the building. There were three levels to the club and about twenty different ways to get to them. You could see through the floor to the next level. In the middle of the room there was a large dance floor with touch sensitive lighting in the floor that would change colors as people stepped on them. Over on the one wall was a large bar that spanned most of the way down the wall. Seto was grateful for that. He figured he was gonna need a few drinks before the night was over.  
  
"This place kicks ass!" Joey shouted. He took off into the middle of the dance floor and started to shake to the music.  
  
"He still can't dance very well." Tristan said to Seto.  
  
"It kinda looks like he's having a seizure." Seto remarked.  
  
"Why don't you go get something to drink? I'll save Joey from himself." Tristan said.  
  
Seto didn't argue. He walked over to the bar and took a seat. There were two bartenders behind the table and both were very busy. The two women were running orders and collecting tips like mad men. The one girl had her back to Seto and he tried clearing his throat to get her attention. He realized the music was too loud for her to hear him so he tried yelling. "Miss?" He said.  
  
The girls turned around and looked at him. They both instantly recognized each other. "Hello." The girl said. "Nice to see you again."  
  
"Hi again." He said. It was the girl from the street. She looked even prettier then before. She wore tight blue jeans, which accented everything, and a red top that was loosely tied at the front and revealed bare skin all the way down the center of her front. Seto felt his hormones kick in but shook it off. "Could I get a drink?" He asked. He tried to hide any emotion he might have been showing.  
  
"Sure. What can I get you?" She asked.  
  
"Rum and Coke please." He said.  
  
"Coming up." She said. She turned around and made the drink at a speed Seto didn't even think was possible. She handed it to him and looked to each end of the bar. "Guess the mad rush is over." She said. Seto looked to. The bar was pretty much empty. Most people were on the dance floor or on other levels. "So what's your name?" The girls asked.  
  
"Kaiba." He said.  
  
"Kaiba? What about a first name?" She asked.  
  
"Just Kaiba." He said. He hated most people calling him by his first name. He thought it sounded weak and mediocre.  
  
"Well Kaiba, my names Welsh." She said.  
  
"What about a first name?" He asked.  
  
"Just Welsh." She mocked him.  
  
He actually found it amusing.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to be renowned Seto Kaiba would you?" She asked.  
  
"What does it matter?" He asked as he took a drink.  
  
"It's just that I've been trying to apply for a job there and I keep getting turned down." She told him.  
  
"We really don't need bar tenders at Kaiba Corp." He said.  
  
"So you ARE Seto Kaiba." She said. "You may not think you need bar tenders but it might help loosen people up a bit."  
  
Seto just sat there.  
  
"Besides, I wasn't applying as a bartender, I applied for a job managing technological development." She explained.  
  
"You have forte in that area?" He asked.  
  
"I'm the best!" She told him. "I may not look like the CEO, technology, business type but believe me, I know what I'm talking about."  
  
"Then why would my company turn you down?" He asked.  
  
"Because your people wouldn't know a good employee if he or she bit them in the ass. Which last time I heard is exactly what they were doing. What did happen to those men that tried to over throw you?" She asked.  
  
Seto was a little pissed off by her comment but just took another drink. "They were dealt with." He said in a cold tone.  
  
"Hmmm. I'd imagine there's more people like that in your company than you think. A big company like yours must be crawling with people like that." She said. She was now busying herself with cleaning some glasses. "I can smell a rat from a mile a way," she said.  
  
"Here." He handed her a small laptop.  
  
"What's this?" She asked.  
  
"It's one of my hand held laptops. It has a very strong security system that prevents anyone from getting into it." He said. He sat back and cradled his drink.  
  
"What do you want me to do with it?" She asked.  
  
"I'll give you ten minutes." He said. "If you can break through the system and find the file containing a picture of me and my little brother I will hire you full time." He said. "You're serious?" She looked at him awkwardly.  
  
"Nine minutes and forty five seconds now." he said as he looked at his watch.  
  
She popped open the laptop and turned it on. She quickly began typing away furiously on the keyboard. Her eyes seemed even more intense than before. Seto sat back on the barstool. He knew in his mind that there was no way this silly bartender could break through his security. He'd designed it himself and made sure that there were no loopholes in its design.  
  
"What cha you doing Kaiba?" Joey asked from behind him.  
  
"Just proving a point to this bartender here." Seto said.  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"That if she was not hired for my company, then she didn't have what it took." He said.  
  
"You're interviewing the bartender?" Joey asked.  
  
"See Joey. You take him clubbing and he's still doing work." Tristan said.  
  
"Don't worry Tristan." Seto said. "This won't take long."  
  
"You're right. Because I'm finished." The girl said. She turned around the computer to show him the picture of him and his baby brother.  
  
"Impossible!" Seto said as he stared at the screen.  
  
"I also found these other two pictures of you and your brother." She clicked the small mouse and brought up the other two filed. "Personally, I like the one of you guys at the beach the best." She told him.  
  
"How did you break through my securities?" He was still in disbelief.  
  
"I told you I was the best." She winked at him.  
  
"Ha! Seto got showed up by the bartender." Joey laughed.  
  
She leaned over the bar to Seto, which revealed more of her front. "So boss? What time should I be in for work?" She ginned.  
  
THE NEXT DAY  
  
Seto sat behind his desk and waited patiently for her to arrive. He'd finally gotten a first name from her before he'd left the club. Mika. Mika Welsh. He sat at his desk and looked over a couple of files waiting on his desk when the door opened. It wasn't Mika though. It was Claire. Claire was one of the many mangers from technologies. As always she was wearing a tight mini-skirt and bright red lipstick. Her red hair went to her shoulders and was lined with strawberry blonde highlights.  
  
"Just some messages for you Mr. Kaiba." She said. She leaned over the desk to hand them to him, trying to flaunt herself to the boss. "Thank you." He said bluntly and never looked up.  
  
She then sat on the edge of the desk. "You know, Mr. Kaiba. The committee party is coming up soon." She told him.  
  
He was quite aware of this. "So." "Well." She said. "I was wondering if you had a date." She said.  
  
Seto didn't like where this was going. So he was grateful when the door opened and Mika walked in.  
  
"Oh, Sorry. Am I interrupting?" She asked.  
  
"No, Miss Calendar here was just leaving." He said.  
  
The woman slipped of the table and gave Seto a wink before turning and walking the door. She gave Mika a little shove with her hip as she walked by. "Hmm. Making friends already." Mika commented.  
  
Seto gave a quick half smile at her comment but quickly switched back to business. "Welcome to the company Miss. Welsh. I hope you are ready to get to work?" He said.  
  
"Yes sir. As ready as I'll ever be." She said.  
  
"Did you have an easy time getting into the building?" He asked.  
  
"Yes. I knew a few of the security men." She told him. She seemed to have realized what she had said and from the look on her fade wanted ever so badly to take it back.  
  
"All right then I will get Joseph to show you to your office." He said. He pressed the button on the intercom. "Mary, please send for Joseph Klinken." He said to the intercom. "Yes sir." It replied. "He'll just be a moment." Seto said and went back to looking through his messages.  
  
"Thank you again for giving me a chance to prove myself." She said.  
  
"You've already proven yourself to me." He said. "Just don't mess up and things will be fine."  
  
"Yes sir." She said. This guy is worse than Osiris was downstairs. She thought to herself.  
  
Just then a perky man with shaggy blonde hair popped his head in the door. "Hello Mika! I'm Joseph. Follow me!" He slipped back through the door.  
  
"Boy that one looks like he could use some perka-sets." She spoke loud enough that Seto could hear her who gave another small grin at the comment.  
  
After having an overly perky conversation with Joseph she was all set to get to work in her new office. She was impressed. The whole room was well lit with a big window and the desk and computer looked really expensive. She sat down and started working.  
  
She'd been set out to organize the productivity of the work done on the virtual reality game. She's also been instructed to work on improving some of the files for the game itself along with some debugging issues they were having with it. "Child's play." She said to herself. She was finding all of this rather easy and she was now well ahead of schedule. Her office door then opened. "Hello Mika." The tall dark man said.  
  
"Osiris old friend! How are you?" She said.  
  
"Hey! Don't call me that. The name is Riley Bishop now." He said.  
  
"Okay. Sorry. I just haven't seen you since."  
  
"Italy? I know. It has been a long time kiddo." The man said. He walked into the room and took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of her desk.  
  
"What are the odds that we'd both end up working for Kaiba Corp huh?" She said.  
  
"It is funny." Riley said. "Last I heard you were a bartender waiting for the next call."  
  
They were both trying hard not to be direct with what they were saying. They were both pretty sure the room was wired for sound.  
  
"So a security guard huh? Kind of a step down don't you think?" Mika asked.  
  
"Hey. I still get to carry a gun though." He patted his side.  
  
"You were always obsessed with your gun." She giggled.  
  
"So is this a mission?" Riley asked.  
  
"What?" She asked.  
  
"An infiltration or a mole uncovering? He asked.  
  
"Oh no! I was just tired of bartending and I wanted to get back to some decent technology. I was feeling deprived." She said. "I haven't gotten a call in ages. I think they assumed I was dead."  
  
"Better that way." Riley said. "At least you know they won't be out there trying to have you 'removed'."  
  
She nodded. "Well, it was great talking to you Riley. Maybe we could get together and have a drink sometime like the good old days huh?" She asked.  
  
"Sure thing girl. I'll talk to you later." He gave her a hug and walked out.  
  
Mika went and sat in her chair. She smiled as she remembered all of her memories with Riley. She thought it was weird seeing him again though.  
  
She pulled out her wallet and pulled a chain out from a secret compartment in the side. She stared at the pendant on the end of the chain. It was a flat gold coin with an outline of a cat's head and eyes engraves into one side. She spun it around with her fingers and smiled at the way it glinted in the light.  
  
She was about to put it back into her purse when she stopped in mid air and decided to put it on. She slid it under her shirt to hide the coin. She looked up at the clock and realized she still had a few hours before she could go home. She decided to get a little further ahead in her work and went back to typing on the computer.  
  
End of Chapter 2  
  
Reviews Please!!! 


	3. File Mishap

Well. I got my 5 reviews (not the way I wanted them) but it got them so, since Seto is glaring at me right now I guess I should continue the story.  
  
Seto: Damn Straight!  
  
Joey: Oh! I wanted to see it scrapped!  
  
Seto: Too bad for you dog.  
  
Joey: Grrrrr.  
  
Lila: I'm so glad you two are trying to get along. :-P Would someone please do the disclaimer.  
  
Joey: Lila does not own any rights to Yu-gi-oh's or anything related to it.  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 4  
  
The next day at work Seto was pissed. Everyone was rushing around in a panic trying to fix things. Most of them were failing. Others were trying to avoid Seto's rage.  
  
"How could you lose 16 files!" Seto shouted.  
  
"I'm sure they've just been misplaced Mr. Kaiba." Said the one employee.  
  
"You'd better hope that's it or you're gonna wish I'd handed you a pink slip a long time ago." He hissed.  
  
The workers ran around the offices like a bunch of ants running from a storm. Mika had just walked in the door and was very confused by what was going on. She leaned over to Riley who was standing at the doorway preventing anyone from leaving.  
  
"What's going on?" Mika asked.  
  
"Major melt down." He said in a powerful deep voice. "Some major files for the virtual reality pods has gone missing and Seto isn't very happy."  
  
Mika grimaced. She had a feeling something like that was going to happen. The moment she'd walked into that building, even on her first day, she could feel the feelings that were far too familiar to her. Sabotage and hate. She could feel them like a cold breeze against her skin. She was even pretty sure she knew what was causing them too.  
  
"Do you think it would be wise for me to go in that room?" Mika asked as she pointed to Seto's office.  
  
"You remember what the term 'suicide mission' mean right?" He stared at her through his dark sunglasses. Why he wore sunglasses indoors was beyond her.  
  
"I'm going in." She said.  
  
"I'm praying for you kid." He told her as she walked to the door.  
  
She opened the door and the emotional tidal wave hit her like a brick wall. Sometimes she really hated this sixth sense she had for reading people. She walked into the room and was immediately confronted.  
  
"What do you want?" Seto hissed as he typed on his computer. His brow was lined with thought and his eyes were so intense she thought they could have burned through steel. She's never felt this sort of intimidation before.  
  
"Just wanted to know what was going on sir." She said.  
  
He froze in his typing and looked up at her. "You don't know?" He asked.  
  
She decided to keep playing dumb. It seemed like the safest route.  
  
"No sir." She said.  
  
"The wonderful employees of this company are a bunch of imbeciles." He said. "I trust them with my programs. I trust them with my documents. I trust them with my fucking files!" He shouted and began typing again. "They lost 16 files from the virtual reality pods and they don't know where to find them."  
  
"Leave them alone and they'll come home, wagging their blueprints behind them?" She said.  
  
Seto looked up again. "You think this is funny?"  
  
"Not a good time to joke. My bad." She said.  
  
Seto was beginning to get very angry again. "Unless you can produce a miracle or the 16 files for me, I suggest you leave." He said.  
  
She looked to her left and then her right. She then gave him a sly grin.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" Seto asked.  
  
"Give me 10 minutes?" She asked.  
  
"Nine minutes and 45 seconds now." He replied.  
  
She gave a little laugh and walked out of the office. She headed down one of the halls off to the right of the main section of the building. Riley watched her with a knowing look. "There she goes again." He muttered.  
  
Mika walked down the hallway and took a sharp right down one of the corridors. She knew exactly where the files were. She was sure of it. She then came to a door with no sign on it and attempted to open it. Locked.  
  
"Shit!" She half whispered. She studied the door for a moment. There was no visible lock on this side of the door. "Of all the bad luck."  
  
She pulled her wallet out of her purse and attempted to pop the lock with one of her credit cards. No good. She figured Seto had made sure that people wouldn't be able to do something like that to his building. He definitely wasn't naive about it. She studied the walls and then noticed the panel on the wall. She tried to punch in the correct code a couple times but it didn't work. "I don't have time for this." She told herself. She looked down at her watch. She only had five minutes left. She looked to her left and then her right. No one was coming. Or within good enough hearing distance. She reached deep down into her purse and pulled out a small palm pilot. "Hello old friend." She said. She popped it open and the screen lit up. It said. Iris scan needed for entry. She held the small object up to her eyes as it scanned her. It then read: Scans verified, Welcome Mika Welsh-Agent 724. She then spoke to the small mechanism. "Activate code cracker." She said.  
  
A small extension popped out of the palm pilot and she inserted it into the control panel. The control panel began to light up and blink violently and then the 7 4 3 5 and the 5 again began to light up in this order continuously. "Piece of cake." She grinned. She punched in the numbers in order and the door unlocked.  
  
She opened the door and carefully closed it behind her. It was an office. She knew whose it was too. She'd been suspicious of this person since she'd shook his hand. She walked over to the desk and began opening and closing drawers. She was careful to wipe at the spots she touched with a cloth she'd pulled out her bag.  
  
She was beginning to get frustrated and was starting to let her mind get to her. Had she guessed wrong? Her suspicions couldn't have been wrong. Could they? She hadn't been out of it that long. Suddenly she came across an old rutty looking tri-colored backpack. It had a sticker on it that said "Save the Whales". She opened up the pack and found just what she'd been looking for. She laughed. "This boys gonna have to save himself first." She looked at her watch. She had two minutes left. She carefully slipped out of the room and walked to Seto's office totting the bag over her shoulder. She walked over and sat on his desk right in front of him. "You owe me a drink at the bar tonight after this." She said. She opened the bag and revealed the contents to him.  
  
Seto looked in and pulled out the missing files. "How did you?" He stuttered.  
  
"Let's just say finding lost things is an old habit of mine." She winked at him.  
  
Seto was stunned. How did she do it? She must have stolen them and set up to bring them back. That was the only explanation for it. "You'd better explain yourself." He said in a cold tone.  
  
She laughed. "What? No thank you? I should have figured. You think I took them don't you?" She asked.  
  
"I don't see any other explanation." He said.  
  
She hopped off of the desk. "I know who took your files. I also know why." She said.  
  
"Then you'd best tell me because I don't see any other suspects than you." He said.  
  
She made a little noise as if she were amused. "Typical. Always suspecting the first target you see." She walked over to him again. "Call Mr. Daniels up to the office." She told him.  
  
Seto was intrigued by this and got Mary to page him to the office. The man walked into the office a short two minutes later. "Yes Mr. Kaiba?" The man said.  
  
"Have a seat Mr. Daniels." Seto said. The man quickly took his seat and looked around the room. He spotted Mika. "Hello Mika." He said. "Hello Joseph." She said giving him a sweet smile.  
  
"So you think it was Joseph?" Kaiba asked. "How do you come to that conclusion?"  
  
She picked up the backpack. "I found the files in this bag." She explained. "This is Joseph's bag. He's an environmentalist."  
  
"What!" Joseph cried. "I've been framed. I would never do such a thing."  
  
Seto looked at Mika with a disapproving look. "You could have planted those." He said.  
  
"I know." She said. "I also know that Joseph here had very good ties with you. So good you gave him a key to your office."  
  
Seto nodded. "So?"  
  
"So he had open access to your office." She said. "I also know that Joseph, being so sweet a naïve, would look for the offer that would best help him in his mission to protect endangered wild life." She turned to Joseph. "Isn't that right?" She asked him.  
  
"Yes but why would I want some silly files?" He asked.  
  
"Because the Anitron Corporation made you an offer." She said. "I overheard a phone call you had yesterday with a 'Todd' I think it was. He offered to give you a position as head of one of their partner chains at a major conservation area if you got them the files."  
  
"That's ridiculous!" Joseph said. "How could you get all that from over hearing one conversation?"  
  
"I checked the phone records that night while I was working a little over time."  
  
"You worked over time on your first night?" Seto asked.  
  
"I had nothing better to do." She shrugged.  
  
She then turned to Seto so she was completely facing him. "Check the e-mail database. If you look up information downloads and uploads I can guarantee you that there has been transfers under Joseph's name." She smiled.  
  
Seto moved to his computer and began to type. The files all popped up as she'd said. Seto still didn't buy it. "This does prove him to be guilty." Seto said. "But I still don't buy it. Joseph has been a loyal employee for a long time and you are a bright enough girl to have been able to set this up."  
  
"Still don't believe me huh?" She said. "I bet if you check the security monitors you'll have the proof you want."  
  
Seto was starting to get frustrated with this girl but he had to do it to prove his point. "Follow me. Both of you." He said. They all walked down to the security office. They walked into the room, which was full of surveillance monitors. He went over to a shelf and pulled out the tape that was used the other day. He put it in. They looked through all of it and there was nothing but Seto working and then the empty office.  
  
"I guess you were wrong Ms. Welsh." Seto said.  
  
Mika was stunned for a moment and looked at Joseph whom was now smirking at her.  
  
"I can't believe you tried to frame me." He said.  
  
She felt her blood boil at his overconfidence but shook it off. She gave him an evil grin. "Nice try." She said. She walked over to the self and pulled out a much older tape.  
  
"What are you doing?" Seto asked.  
  
"Seto what were you wearing yesterday?" She asked.  
  
"What?" Seto asked.  
  
"What were you wearing yesterday?" She repeated.  
  
"What does it matter?" He asked.  
  
"Just answer the question please." She said.  
  
"I was wearing a black T-shirt and my navy-blue trench coat." He said.  
  
"Funny. What outfit are you wearing in the tape?" She asked.  
  
Seto turned to the monitor. On the screen her was wearing his white trench coat he'd worn during the Battle City Tournament. After which he'd worn off and on again. "The tape's a fake!" He said.  
  
She waved her finger. "Not a fake. Just a swapped tape." She said. She pulled out the tape from the case she was holding and put it into the VCR. On the screen came Seto dressed as he actually had been wearing yesterday. How could he have missed such an important detail? Seto watched the monitor as it became later in that day. Suddenly Joseph came onto the screen and was caught taking the files. "I can't believe it!" Seto said.  
  
"Believe it." Mika said.  
  
Joseph stepped back then turned on his heel and made a move for the door. Mika chased after him. Joseph sped down the hall towards the exit. Mika had to act fast. She grabbed a fish bowl full of decorative stones off of one of the secretary's desks. She grabbed a handful of the gems and threw them at Joseph's feet. Joseph skid on top of the stones and crashed hard into a potted plant. Mika ran over and pinned him by his chest with her foot. "Sorry. Can't just let you get away with it like that." She said. Joseph growled at her.  
  
Riley ran over. "Nice catch Ms. Welsh." He said. He lowered his sunglasses for a moment and winked at her. She smiled back. Seto ran up to them. "Joseph, consider yourself fired. But don't think you get off that easy. I will have you pay dearly for stabbing me in the back like that. Take my word on it." Seto looked at Riley. "Have him taken down to security and make sure he is properly dealt with." Seto ordered.  
  
"Yes sir." Riley said. He looked at Mika for a moment and then picked Joseph up and dragged him away.  
  
Seto turned to Mika. "I don't know how to thank you." He said.  
  
"You could take me out for that drink I asked for." She said.  
  
"If that is what you wish. I do owe you." He said. "But it will have to be later. I have to fix the damage that little hyperactive twerp did," he said. Mika nodded.  
  
"I'll be glad to help." She told him.  
  
He gave her a quick nod and headed to his office. "Oh and by the way." He said. He stopped with his back still facing her. "I don't know how you solved that problem so quickly but don't think it didn't go unnoticed." He turned his head slightly so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. "I'll be keeping an eye on you." He said and then walked to his office.  
  
"I'll be counting on it." Mika said to herself.  
  
End Of Chapter 4  
  
Reviews Please! 


	4. Work and Drama

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Mika leaned back in her chair and gently ran her finger along the rim of her glass, now empty. She should have known better than to have expected him to show up. She kicked herself for thinking that Seto would actually come to the bar. The friendly blonde waiter came back over to the table for the third time that night.  
  
"Still hasn't shown huh?" The girl asked.  
  
Mika shook her head.  
  
"Well men can be real jerks sometimes. I mean last week my boyfriend ran over my cat and didn't even bother to tell me. He just threw him over into the neighbor's yard!" The blonde said.  
  
"That's awful." Mika smiled. She appreciated the girl's sympathy. "But he's not my boyfriend. He's a colleague of mine at work and he owes my a drink for some favors I pulled for him." Mika said.  
  
"Is he cute?" The girl asked.  
  
Mika burst into laughter at the girl's forwardness. "I guess so.but that's beside the point." Mika said.  
  
"I know what you mean. NO dating in the workplace." The blonde said. "I mean if they didn't have that rule, I'd have hit up on our DJ over there ages ago." She pointed to the cute muscled brunets standing at the turntables. "Anyway, I've got other tables to take care of." She looked at Mika with caring eyes. She grabbed the empty drink off of the table. "I'll get you another one of these.on the house."  
  
"Thank you." Mika said. She hated being pitied. She knew that's was the drink was. A pity drink. It did save her another five bucks though so she wasn't going to argue. She sat back and admired the room. She then decided to eye up the DJ. He was pretty cute.  
  
Just then Seto walked into the club. He was wearing a white tank top and a black trench coat. Mika figured that the trench coat was some sort of icon thing of his. He looked around until his eyes landed on her. He then walked over and sat down at the table.  
  
"Hello." She said.  
  
"Hi." He replied bluntly.  
  
"I take it that the damages were pretty bad huh?" Mika asked. The waitress had came back over and sat the drink in front of Mika. She glanced Seto up and down. "What can I get you?" She asked.  
  
"Rum and Coke." Seto said.  
  
"Coming up." She was about to walk away when she looked back at Mika. "Hey, I'll trade ya for the DJ." She winked.  
  
Mika couldn't help but snicker. "What was that all about?" Seto asked.  
  
"Bar tender talk." She lied.  
  
Seto took it at face value. "Anyway, the damage was terrible. All that information has now been handed over to one of my rival companies and there is no telling how they are going to use it. They'll probably use it to improve one of their own crappy products or to find weaknesses in my own." Seto said coldly. Mika studied Seto. She studied his jaw line, which was very distinct, as he was gritting his teeth. Him shoulders were hunched over all tense from work and she saw the distant look in his eyes. His mind was still spinning about all that had happened at work.  
  
The waitress brought over the drink and Seto gave her a small nod as his thanks. Mika watched as all the muscles in his body tensed up as she came and left. She watched the way he straightened up slightly every time someone walked buy or how his head turned a little when someone spoke out loud to suddenly.  
  
"You're hating this." Mika said.  
  
"What? No. I'm fine." He said.  
  
"No you're not you're a wreck." She said.  
  
"How do you know how I am?" He snapped.  
  
"Your body language says a lot about you. You became rigid the moment you walked in the door." She said. Seto didn't respond. "People have boundaries and limits." She told him. "Certain people fit well into certain places."  
  
"Funny, you don't seem to have any trouble fitting in everywhere." He said.  
  
"And some are adapters. It's a rare thing but some people can adjust and fit into most situations. There are those who have very limited places they can feel they fit in." She finished. She watched Seto stir over his drink in his hand. Mika couldn't take it anymore. "Come on." She said as she stood up.  
  
"What?" Seto asked.  
  
"Come on. I don't want to spend the night with you if you're gonna act like a frigid cow. I've got a better place for us to go." Mika said.  
  
Seto sat still for a moment but then proceeded to follow her out, not before leaving money for his drink. The two walked out to her car. I was the same firebird Joey had, only this one had been redone. It was a deep shade of red and had obviously had a lot of work into it. They both hopped in and Mika turned it on. The car didn't hesitate like Joey's and they pulled out onto the road.  
  
"Where are we going?" Seto asked her.  
  
She smiled slightly. "Somewhere I think both of us will feel a lot more comfortable." She then pulled up to the curve of a place called "Domino's Pizzeria".  
  
"A fast food joint?" Seto asked.  
  
"Were just stopping here to get some food." She said.  
  
Both went into the store and came out fifteen minutes later with two large pops and a medium sized pizza box. "So where to now?" Seto asked. Is this girl going to drag me all over town? I could be spending my time a lot more productively trying to fix the issues at work.  
  
"You'll see." She smiled. The two drove all the way across town until they came across an old abandoned apartment building. "What are we doing here?" Seto asked.  
  
Mika shut off the car and motioned for him to follow. Despite the fact that the building had obviously been unkempt for a long time it seemed like it once had been a nice place. It had a large front staircase that had at least twenty steps to it. Along the edges of the building were empty flowerbeds that once must have held beautiful greenery. There were statues all along the outside of the building of angels and children. The windows were old and some were shattered.  
  
"What is this place?" Seto asked.  
  
"It used to be called 'The house of Haven'." Mika said. She opened the main door with a gentle shove and he walked in behind her.  
  
"Do you mean Heaven?" Seto asked.  
  
She led him down the hallway. "Nope. Haven. The man who built this place was named Roderick Haven. He built it after his 13 kids." She told him.  
  
"13. That seems like an awful lot." Seto remarked.  
  
She nodded. "But he loved them very much. And his wife too." Mika pointed to an old portrait up on the wall of a pretty young woman with her black hair swept back into tight loops.  
  
Mika opened a small panel and an old creaky looking elevator opened. Seto was unsure about this but decided it must be safe as Mika had walked into it without question.  
  
"What happened to them?" Seto asked.  
  
Mika pressed a few buttons and the doors closed. The elevator slowly began to rise. "They were murdered." She said.  
  
"All of them?" Seto asked.  
  
Mika nodded. "As far as the records showed. Haven was on his way home from work one night just the same as always when he heard screaming from his home. He ran up to his apartment and found all of his children and his wife all shot down and stabbed to death. He was so traumatized that he was put into a mental ward shortly after." The elevator began to slow as it reached the top. "Anyway, about sixteen years later he was released and the first thing he did was took a major part of his savings to build this building. He put the faces of all the children murdered as statues on the side of the building."  
  
"But that can't be right." Seto said. "You said he had thirteen kids. There are three angels on each corner that I counted."  
  
"That's the twist to the story." Mika said as the elevator doors opened. "All of the children's bodies were accounted for except for one. One child was never found. Haven was sure that the child was still alive so he put a faceless angel above the main door to symbolize that the thirteenth child hadn't entered haven yet."  
  
"Interesting story but what does that have to do with us being here?" Seto asked.  
  
"Do you have a safe place Seto?" Mika asked.  
  
"What do you mean?" Seto asked.  
  
"You know.a place you can go that you always feel secure and peaceful in?" She explained.  
  
"I guess that would be my virtual reality game. It may still need fixing but I probably feel most comfortable in there." He said. "Mine is this building." Mika said. "When I was little. I used to spend my spare time up on the roof of this building."  
  
They walked out onto the roof of the building and Seto stared at the set of lawn chairs and small table set up there.  
  
Mika then sat the pizza on the table and Seto sat down the drinks. "What's so great about this place?" Seto asked.  
  
"The view." She said.  
  
Seto looked around. It was a fantastic view. I was very high up and you could see all of Domino from the roof. The lights glittered from the skyscrapers and the arcade. "Not bad." Seto said.  
  
"That's not the only great view." She said. Seto turned and looked at her. She was pointing up. Seto looked up and stared at the night sky. I was lit up with stars all over.  
  
"How can the stars be so clear in the city?" Seto asked.  
  
"I don't know." Mika said. "Any other building I've been up on you can't see any. This one seems to be a special case." She said.  
  
Seto didn't answer. He was to busy staring up at the night sky. He hadn't seen stars this bright in years. He felt like he was ten again, sitting with his parents and little brother up at their cottage. "It's amazing." He whispered. She smiled. "I'm glad you like it." She said. "Now come have some pizza before it gets cold."  
  
Seto was brought back from his fantasy world and took the lawn chair next to hers. The two sat and enjoyed the pizza and began discussing things other than work. Seto hadn't thought about anything else for a long time but he actually enjoyed taking his mind off of it for a while.  
  
MESAANGER EMAILING SYSTEM  
  
Hotpink: Can you believe what happened to Joseph?  
  
Cruel2BU: I can't believe he got busted. How did he get busted?  
  
Harper: Forget about him we have more important issues.  
  
Hotpink: Like what? We'll be next!  
  
Harper: Exactly why we have to act now.  
  
Cruel2BU: It's all that Mika Bitches fault. Why did she have to get hired?  
  
Harper: Someone must have pulled some strings. We should probably not message like this anymore either. It could be dangerous. She might uncover us with it.  
  
Hotpink: Right. We'll make this the last one. Then how will we communicate?  
  
Harper: I'll inform you later. For now, we need to deal with the little snoop problem at work.  
  
Cruel2BU: How do you say we do that.  
  
Harper: We have her 'removed'.  
  
Hotpink: Isn't there any other way?  
  
Harper: Didn't you hear what happened to Joseph after the bust? Do you want to be next?  
  
Several minutes of silence  
  
Hotpink: NO  
  
Cruel2BU: No.  
  
Harper: Then you know what we have to do. We'll have a privatized lunch meeting tomorrow to discuss possible 'removal' techniques.  
  
Hotpink: We may need to call for some assistance.  
  
Harper: If it comes to that. For now lets all sign off and gets some sleep. Goodnight.  
  
Hotpink: Night.  
  
Cruel2BU: Bye.  
  
END OF CHAPTER  
  
Geeze. I wondered how many chapters it was gonna take to get the bad guys in finally. And now we can get to all the action stuff. YEAH! Please review. I do have suspicion that I've only got two readers for this story and if so I may have to make a different story instead. I have been itching to do a spin off or sequel to Aloha Love or write one about Yugi but I'd really rather not scrap with story.  
  
Seto: Please stop saying that!  
  
Lila: Don't worry Seto. I'd only do it if I really felt it were necessary.  
  
Seto: Phew. PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY THEN! 


	5. The Party

Note: This chapter is fairly long and I changed one point. Claire is now a secretary.  
  
Behind All the Masks  
  
Chapter 6  
  
The next few weeks went on with nothing really special to deal with. Mika was doing well at work, as far as she'd heard she was almost near a promotion already. She leaned back in her chair and stared at the computer screen. She was once again ahead in her work and unsure what she should do next. She decided to look at the virtual reality demo disk that had been left on her desk a few days ago. She popped it in and the program loaded itself. She began to play it. Hmmm. She thought that is was actually fun. Kaiba didn't seem like the type to make kiddy games or any games for that matter but this game was really good. She continued to play the game until she heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" She said.  
  
The door opened and in walked Claire Calendar. She was dressed in another tight skirt and revealing top. Mika found her revolting and pathetic but she never said anything.  
  
"Mr. Kaiba wanted you to check these." She said. She handed Mika a set of disks.  
  
"Thank you." Mika said. She then went back to the game.  
  
Ms. Calendar wasn't leaving though so Mika paused the game and looked up at her. "Was there something else?" She asked.  
  
"Yes." She said. "I was feeling concerned for you."  
  
Mika was now at her full attention. "Why?"  
  
"Because it's so obvious that you have feelings for Mr. Kaiba." She said.  
  
"I don't see where you would get such an idea but I still don't see why that would concern you." Mika said.  
  
Claire took the seat in front of Mika's desk. "It's just, the way you look at him. I can see it's there. I just don't want you to get your feelings hurt." She said.  
  
"How's that?"  
  
"It's just. Seto is a very conservative type you know? Tends to keep to himself." She explained.  
  
"Duh." Mika replied.  
  
"There's the committee party coming up and I figured you might try to ask him out. I just thought I'd warn you so you don't get your heart broken." She explained.  
  
Mika felt her skin getting hot. "Well thank you for your concern Claire but I'm sure I can take care of myself." She said. "You have a good day."  
  
Claire's face went from a fake looking friendly to pissed off. She stood up and walked out of the room. Mika went back to the game. Who does she think she is? Mika wondered. Mika minimized the game into the background of her computer and began looking through the files. Hmmm. Seto has been working some overtime again. She thought. She worked away at the files for a few hours, editing and running tests till she was finished. She saved the new and improved files onto the disks and took them to Seto's office.  
  
She walked in the door and found him busy typing. As if anything else was new.  
  
"Seto. Oh I mean Mr. Kaiba." She said.  
  
He looked up at her. "Yes?" He asked. She walked over and handed him the files. "All finished."  
  
He gave her a questionable look. "Already?" He asked.  
  
She nodded. "Not bad." He said as he looked through the files. "These will work just fine."  
  
She felt a little insulted. She knew she'd done a damn good job on those files but he was the boss so she wasn't going to argue.yet. Just then Claire walked into the room and over to Seto. "More messages sir." She said.  
  
"Well. I was just wondering if you had a date for the committee party." Claire said.  
  
Mika thought to herself. THAT BITCH!  
  
"No." Kaiba said bluntly.  
  
"Oh. Well would you like to go with me? Unless you had someone else in mind?" Claire started to hint.  
  
Seto felt trapped and embarrassed. He knew he had to attend the party for exposure and the rules were you needed a date. It certainly couldn't be Mokuba. He hated the business functions. He looked at Mika. His face was getting warmer. He most certainly couldn't go with her. That would just look unprofessional. They'd think he'd hired her as eye candy.  
  
"Fine." He said.  
  
Claire jumped up and down. "Great. Pick me up a 5!" She said  
  
Mika was stunned. And feeling really awkward. She had to get out of there. "I'll just let myself out. I have more work to get done."  
  
Seto didn't answer and she quickly left the room. She got back to her office and crashed into her chair with a deep sigh.  
  
That stupid bitch just swept in and took him from right under my nose. That stupid little floozy. All she wants is his money. I can't believe I listened to her.  
  
Wait. What am I talking about? I don't have feelings for Seto. Right? Why am I acting like I'm 16 again. All jealous. This is ridiculous. He obviously isn't in to you or he would have asked you. I just need to get over it. It's only temporary. Listen to myself. I sound like a moron. What is wrong with me?  
  
She was starting to get pissed with herself and went back to playing the demo on her computer. She was getting pretty good at it. She wondered if she'd ever get a chance to play it using one of the pods. Then another tap came at her door. "Come in." She said. She was starting to get irritated.  
  
A man popped his face through the door. "May I come in?"  
  
"Oh hello Matt." Mika said. She was actually relieved to see him. He was one of the few people in the building whom she'd been able to make friends with. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your work." He said.  
  
"No not at all." She said. "What's up?"  
  
"I was just going to ask you if you wanted to go to the committee party with me." He said.  
  
Matt was very attractive. He was tall with sandy brown hair that was always spiked. He had deep brown eyes. He was kind of goofy looking but it was a cute kind of goofy. She probably would have said no to the invitation but for some reason she said, "Sure. I'll go with you."  
  
"Great." He said. "I'll pick you up at your house ok?"  
  
"Ok." She said. He then left. What did she just do? That was definitely not like her. She hadn't even wanted to go to the stupid committee party but she'd just agreed to go. Maybe she hadn't been getting enough sleep. She closed up the game she was playing and decided to go home. She probably needed the extra sleep. If she was going to last the whole committee party tomorrow night she was going to need it.  
  
MESSANGER SYSTEM  
  
Cruel2BU: Is everything set?  
  
Harper: Yes. She won't know what hit her.  
  
HotPink: R U sure she won't be able to find these messages we are sending.  
  
Harper: There's nothing to worry about. These files will be deleted right after we're finished.  
  
HotPink: Good.  
  
Cruel2BU: So when is it going to happen?  
  
Harper: I've set it up for right after the committee party. She won't know what hit her.  
  
Hotpink: I thought she wasn't going to go.  
  
Harper: She changed her mind as far as I've heard.  
  
Hotpink: This better work or we're all in for it.  
  
Harper: Don't sweat it. There's no way she'll escape.  
  
Chapter 6- Part 2  
  
Mika ran around her apartment frantically searching for the right clothes to wear. Pink dress? No way! Yellow skirt? Not this time. Oh, here's the one. She pulled out a scarlet red silk dress. It had spaghetti straps. The bottom had two petal-like sections to it that clung to her legs. It cut upward in the middle where the material overlapped. The dress only reached just above her knees and revealed her well-toned legs. She put on a pair of strap on pumps. It certainly wasn't the most business like out fit she had but she really could have cared less. She wanted to look good. She finished applying some makeup when the doorbell rang. She ran down the stairs being careful not to fall. She wasn't used to the platform shoes. She had always been one to wear flat foot sandals or sneakers. She didn't own a pair of high heels. Her friends had taken her to buy a pair once and she fell over when she tried to walk in them and knocked over three shoe displays. She had then sworn she would never where them ever again.  
  
She opened to door to find Matt standing there. He looked her up and down and gave a low whistle. "You look amazing." He gasped.  
  
She mimicked him and looked him up and down. "You don't look so bad yourself." She smiled. He really did look good. He'd gelled his hair up very carefully and was wearing a dark green dress shirt and black jeans. He was also wearing a tie that was very poorly tied.  
  
She stepped forward and adjusted to tie around his neck. He blushed. "Sorry. I'm not big on dressing up." He explained.  
  
"I completely understand." She smiled as she stepped back admiring her handy work.  
  
"Are you ready to go?" He asked.  
  
She nodded and looped her arm though his as he escorted her down to the car.  
  
Meanwhile Kaiba was rushing around his room. The black shirt? Too predictable. The blue trench coat? Not dressy enough. Ah, perfect. He pulled out a dark navy blue dress shirt and a black dress coat to go with it. He got dressed and moved down stair. Mokuba was sitting on the couch. "Are we still going to the movies tomorrow?" He asked his big brother.  
  
"Of course Mokuba. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He said. He gave his brother a hug and walked out to the limo. He climbed in and told the driver, "To Ms. Calendar's house Allen."  
  
The driver gave a nod and drove out of the grounds. They arrived at the small home and Claire came running out the front door. She was wearing a tight black mini shirt and an even tighter white and black top. Seto wondered how she could even fit into the clothes let alone be able to move so quickly while wearing them. She climbed into the car and they pulled off towards where the party was going to be. This was going to be a long night. Seto thought.  
  
They arrived at the party and Seto helped Claire out of the car. She immediately looped her arm through his as they walked up to the entrance. The guards at the door let them through without hesitation. They walked into the large room. It was full of round tables that were set out in a specific order. Each table had small cards on it with the names of who was to sit where on each. There was also a hard wooden floor that had been cleared off and appeared to be a make shift dance floor. Seto already hated being there. Claire tugged on his arm. "Come on. Let's find our seats." She said. They walked over to a fancy mirror with a golden frame which had paper posted on it. ON the paper was a list of who sat where. Seto felt far too much like he was at a wedding. "So where are we?" Claire asked.  
  
Seto looked down the list. Cameron, Diego, Kennedy, Robinson... Not table 1. Mathers, Philips.Welsh? Mika? Was she here? He then looked at the next two names on the list. It was his and Claire's. She was sitting right next to Mika. OH great! As if the night wasn't already going to be uncomfortable. He thought to himself.  
  
Why does it matter? It's just Mika. She's just a colleague. But that scene in the office the other day. He just didn't want to talk to her right now. He decided he'd have to deal with it and walked over to the table. She looked up and they made eye contact.  
  
"Oh shit." Matt said. "We get stuck next to the boss."  
  
Mika gave a weak smile.  
  
Seto took the seat next to Mika after seating Claire. "Hello." He said.  
  
"Hi." She replied.  
  
Mika looked at Claire who only gave her an evil look. Now isn't this comfortable. She thought.  
  
The MC came to the mike and welcomed everyone and gave a long speech. Matt started to make small snoring noises that cause Mika to giggle. Seto only glared at the childishness although he did agree with them. Claire leaned into Seto's ear. "Can you believe those two? Acting so childish?"  
  
Seto didn't answer, he just tried to pretend he was listening to what the MC had to say. Eventually he finished and they were served a dinner or chicken salad. Claire pushed the plate back. "I told them at the door I was a vegetarian and they give me chicken." She scrunched her nose. "I'm going to go have a word with the chefs." She stood up, taking the plate and walked back into the kitchen."  
  
"Well. She's delightful." Mika said to Seto.  
  
Seto gave a small smile. "She'd not that bad." He said.  
  
"Right." She replied. She then looked down at the plate. "Ugh. Olives." She began picking away at them.  
  
"You don't like them?" He asked.  
  
"I think they're disgusting." She told him.  
  
"I think they're great. I'll take them." He said.  
  
She poured the small pile of olives onto his plate. She then noticed him removing the fancy bread string topping off of his. "Well if your not going to eat that. I'll take it." She said. He then pushed it onto her plate.  
  
Matt was grinning. "You guys are worse than an old couple." He said. Seto shot him a dirty look and they all started eating they're meals. Claire eventually came back with a new chicken-less salad and ate with the others. Some music began to play and a few lights lit up around the make shift dance floor.  
  
"Oh. I love this song." Claire cooed. "Come dance with me Seto."  
  
Seto had no time to argue and was pulled onto the floor. The two slowly began to dance to the song.  
  
Mika and Matt looked at one another. 'Shall we?" He asked holding out his hand. She took it and he led her out onto the floor.  
  
"So I surrender." He told her.  
  
Mika raised on I brow. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean. I give up. I can't compete anymore. I've lost." He said in a dramatic voice.  
  
She giggled. "I don't understand."  
  
"For you." He said.  
  
"Me?" She questioned him.  
  
"Yes. It's obvious that I'm the love sick puppy here but you already have your eyes on a different puppy." He looked over to Seto.  
  
"Seto? You're joking right?" She said.  
  
"Don't deny it. You two work well for each other. I haven't seen Seto get along so well with a girl before in a loooooong time." He said.  
  
"I don't think so." She said.  
  
"It's okay. I'm not hurt by it. You probably would have got fed up with me eventually anyway. I can be really childish and annoying." He said.  
  
She smiled. "No."  
  
"Oh yes. It's like a disorder." He joked.  
  
This made her laugh again which Seto watched. He felt his skin grow warm. What was with him? This can't be healthy. She must think I'm a pervert for always staring at her like that. He should probably have himself checked out. Claire nuzzled into his chest and sighed. This girl was really to forward. She just couldn't take a hint. He had no interest in her at all but she just wouldn't leave him be.  
  
Matt looked into Mika's eyes. "I'm going to make a deal with you." He said.  
  
"What about?" She asked.  
  
"I've got this drama group I'm a member of." He started.  
  
"Yes." She was starting to worry what the deal was.  
  
"We're getting ready to do another production and one of the main characters would be perfect for you." He said.  
  
"Acting? No way." She said.  
  
"Oh please. I know you'd do a great job." He begged.  
  
"What's in it for me?" She asked.  
  
"I will distract Mr. Calendar for a while so you can sneak in a dance with Mr. Kaiba." He told her.  
  
"What! Come on. I don't want to dance with him." She demanded.  
  
"You really are in denial now aren't you?" He said.  
  
Am I? Do I really like Kaiba like that? No. That just can't be. He's not my type. Wait. I have a type? Well. He is kind of cute. He has a nice smile and great eyes. He's smart and on the occasion can be kind of fun to hang out with. What? No! This is ridiculous. Get a grip on yourself girl! You're starting to sound like some ditzy little cheerleader. Grrr. This is irritating to think about Maybe I should dance with him. Just to see if there is anything. Then I can stop thinking about it. Acting isn't such a bad price to pay is it? I can act. I was in the drama club in high school. I've done speeches and I did fine. "Okay. Deal." She said.  
  
"Excellent." He said.  
  
The song ended and he walked over to Claire and Seto. "Claire can I have word with you?" He asked.  
  
"I'm a little busy." She snapped.  
  
"Well. It's just. You remember when we were talking about that competition for the Caribbean Cruise I helped you apply for?" He said.  
  
"Yes." She raised her head from Seto's chest.  
  
"Well. You're in the top ten chances now and I got the papers. They need to be in by tomorrow and I was wondering is you were still interested in filling them out." He said. "But is you're busy." He began to walk away.  
  
Her eyes lit up and she looked at Seto. "I'm sorry Seto but I really need to fill these out."  
  
Seto was rather relieved. He stepped away from her and she walked away with Matt. She smacked Matt on the back of the head. "How could you leave it to the last minute?" She snapped.  
  
Mika and Seto stood on the dance floor. While they were only about ten feet away it felt like the Grand Canyon separated them and Seto dare not cross it.  
  
I guess I'll have to just be gutsy. Mika thought. "Would you dance with me?" She asked.  
  
Seto seemed shocked but then went back to his emotionless face. "Sure."  
  
She stepped forward into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist. For acting so cold he felt very warm to her. She felt soft tingles go through her body as he touched her and as he looked into her eyes she felt like he could read her deepest thoughts. Shit! She did have feelings for him and they were strong.  
  
Seto felt irregular feelings inside of him. They confused him and irritated him. He must be getting sick. It didn't happed often but that was the only answer for it. He was getting sick. She moved in closer to him and he felt the dizzy sensation that was already upon him become stronger. He had to get away from her. He began to push her away but another sensation over took him. It felt even worse that the dizziness so her pulled her back in. He tried to get his mind off of it but all he could think about was her. The way she looked tonight, the sound of her voice and even the way she smelled. This can't be right. He wasn't growing any feelings for her. She's was just another one of his workers. That was it.  
  
She looked up into his eyes and felt the tingles through her getting stronger. "Seto I." She drifted off. She couldn't think of what to say.  
  
He wanted to say something but the words were stuck in his throat. As hard as he tried he could say nothing. He suddenly felt his face drawn down to hers. Like a magnet he could not stop. He felt his lips gently brush hers. She pulled in a quick breath out of shock. The sensation of his soft lips against hers was amazing.  
  
The moment was quickly cut short by a voice that could have cut through steel. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" Claire shouted.  
  
Seto and Mika pulled away. "You slut! I'm gone for two seconds and you move in on him like he's a free meal!" She shouted. She grabbed a glass of punch off of a table and tossed it at them. It hit Mika right in her front and splashed back at Seto. They both stood in shock.  
  
Mika felt her face turning bright red. She'd never felt so stupid. She looked at Matt whom was just as shocked. She looked back at Seto. "I have to go." She said softly. She quickly ran past Matt and out the front entrance.  
  
"Run you slut!" Claire shouted after her.  
  
Matt chased Mika out into the parking lot. "Mika wait!"  
  
Mika stopped and turned around. She was nearly in tears. She couldn't remember the last time she was like this.  
  
"Do you want a ride. I'm so sorry. I didn't think. I tried to hold her off. I-" He rambled.  
  
She raised a hand to make him stop talking. "It's okay." She said. "I was being stupid to think--. It's not important."  
  
"Can I at least give you a ride home?" He asked.  
  
She shook her head. "I'm fine. I need to be alone anyway." She said. She walked out of the parking lot and down the road. She then realized just how far her house was. It was going to be at least and 25-minute walk. She walked without thinking. Her mind was still in shock of all that had happened. Had he kissed me or did I kiss him? Does he really like me? What was I thinking? She didn't even notice the rain beginning to fall or the men that were beginning to appear around her until one spoke up.  
  
"Where are you going in such a hurry cutie?" The one asked.  
  
"None of your business." She snapped.  
  
"Oh, but it is." Another one said.  
  
She was suddenly fully aware of her surroundings. All of her instincts had kicked in. She knew she was in trouble. "What do you want?" She asked.  
  
"You." Another one said.  
  
They all began to lung at her.  
  
She ducked out of the way of the first few attackers but one grabbed her from behind. She kicked off her pumps. She knew they'd just get in the way. She then kicked the man right in his groin causing him to let go.  
  
"You stupid bitch." He hissed.  
  
She looked around quickly. She counted at least 10 full-grown men attacking her. The one at three o'clock had a knife and the one directly behind her had a baseball bat. So far it didn't look too good.  
  
One of the men dove at her but she side stepped and hit him in the back of the head his her fist causing him to hit the pavement.  
  
"I guess she's stronger then we predicted." The one man said.  
  
"Who sent you?" She demanded to know.  
  
"You'll learn in good time." The one with the bat said. He then charged her with the bat. She quickly disarmed him and knocked him out with his own bat.  
  
The men realized she wasn't normal. "What are you?" One asked.  
  
"The biggest target mistake you'll ever make." She hissed.  
  
Two more attacked her. She bent down and spun around with her leg out causing them to fall. They got up and attacked again. She easily blocked their attacks but didn't avoid the knife that slid into the back of her shoulder. She yelped in pain but shook it off. She turned to see her attacker and then wiped at the shoulder. "You're going to regret you did that." She said in a cold tone. She then ran at him and leapt up into the air. She squarely hit him the jaw causing his neck to snap back.  
  
She then realized that the men that were left had called back up. There was another 10 or fifteen men coming down the street. She was worried that the blood she was losing wouldn't start to get to her soon so she did the only thing she could. She ran. She had none of her equipment or her gun with her. What a day to forget you gun. She thought to herself.  
  
She took off down the street in a blind run. She couldn't tell where she was anymore because the rain was pelting down now nearly blinding her. The deep cut on her back was really starting to hurt but she wouldn't stop. She then felt a sharp pain in her foot. She then knew there was a piece of glass embedded into her bare foot. Shit. It hurt even worse but she wouldn't stop. She knew they were still close behind. She kept running till she met a very tall wall. She tried to see the top and thought she could see it. She then saw the iron fence just to the right. She ran over and climbed up it with little difficulty. It would have been easier had she not been in a dress or had the glass in her foot.  
  
She carefully landed on the other side and ran across the lawn. She could see the light from the house. She ran, her heart was pumping like mad. She eventually reached the door and banged on it with all of her might. She hit the doorbell to until it open. She stared at the little black haired boy who answered the door.  
  
"Little help please." She said just before she passed out half way in the door.  
  
End of Chapter 6  
  
REVIEWS PLEASE 


	6. The Secret is Out

Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 7  
  
The rain pound down on the pavement as Seto stared out of the window of his car. What an awful night. Mika must have really hated him. Why did he kiss her? She must think he's just some sleazy boss trying to get into her pants.  
  
It had been a good kiss though. Hell, it had been a great kiss. Right up to the part where psycho bitch burst in and doused poor Mika with the punch. He glared angrily at the woman sitting beside him. She had no right to cause such a scene at the party. He wanted to throw her out of the moving car right there but his temptation was quickly taken away when the car came to a stop in front of her house. She turned to him. "Well I had a lovely night." She said in an all too friendly voice. "I hope we can do something like this again some time." She leaned in to kiss him.  
  
Seto immediately backed away. "What do you think you are doing?" He asked.  
  
"Giving you a kiss good night." She said.  
  
"Think again." He said.  
  
"But I thought."  
  
"You thought wrong." Seto snapped. "I've been quiet and courteous up to this point but we all have our lines and you are starting to cross into dangerous territory." His voice became cold and cruel. "Our relationship is strictly a perfunctory relationship and it will never change from that." The driver had opened the door for Claire. "If you attempt to change that or interfere with any of my other relationships again so help me, you will be unemployed and out on the street so fast it will make your head spin. Understand?"  
  
Claire was very nervous now. "Yes sir. Completely." She said. She stepped out of the car and it soon pulled away. Seto leaned his head back on the seat. "Take me home please Allen."  
  
The rain had gotten even worse and the lightening was striking only occasionally. But every time it did it felt like the whole earth shook. The lightning struck hard again, which brought Mika back to life. She looked around in her daze. She mustn't have been out long because she had only been dragged into the hallway. Who ever had dragged her in there was just now shutting the door. She then saw the little boy walk over to her and stare at her with concerned eyes.  
  
"Oh good. You're awake." He said. "You're bleeding a lot so I'm going to call 911." He said. He started to head for the phone.  
  
"Don't." Mika ordered.  
  
"Why not?" The boy looked back down at her with confusion.  
  
"They'll be expecting that. They know that I'm hurt. They've probably already got men waiting there to have me taken away." She said.  
  
"You're a criminal?" The boy asked.  
  
"No. Not a criminal. Just wanted. I'm a good guy I swear. The guys after me want me dead for some reason." She said.  
  
"You really need a doctor." The boy said.  
  
Mika looked. She probably did. She was now resting in a puddle of her own blood. The bleeding had slowed but it wasn't stooping.  
  
"Are there any adults in the house?" She asked.  
  
"The servants are all gone. But my baby sitter is here." He said.  
  
"That'll do. Can you go get them please?" She asked.  
  
"Ok." He took off down the hall. "Serenity! Come here." He shouted.  
  
"What is Mokuba?" The girl asked. "Oh my god! Call 911!" The girl shouted.  
  
"No. She says she doesn't want us to." Mokuba told her.  
  
"What does she want then?" Serenity looked over Mika with a panic stricken face. She obviously didn't see blood too often.  
  
"I'm fully trained. I'll just give you instructions and you follow them. Okay?" She asked.  
  
Serenity could only nod. For the next half an hour Mika had Mokuba and Serenity lifting her and had then collecting towels and patching. They had her foot wrapped in a towel but she couldn't convince either of them to remove the glass. She'd have to do it herself later. They had done a very good job of cleaning up the wound on her back and patching it. Mika heard the front door open.  
  
"What the hell is going on!" Seto shouted.  
  
"Seto?" Mika asked.  
  
"That's my big brother. Do you know him?" Mokuba asked.  
  
Mika nodded. Serenity looked as if she were going to be sick. Seto stormed into the kitchen where Mika was now laying on the floor.  
  
"Hey big brother!" Mokuba shouted.  
  
"Mokuba! Thank God you're alright." He said. He wrapped his arms around his little brother. "Where did all the blood come from?" Seto asked.  
  
"From her." Mokuba said as he pointed behind the counter. Seto walked behind and gasped. "Mika?" He asked.  
  
"Hey Seto. Nice home you have here." She said.  
  
"What happened to you?" Seto asked. He leaned down and looked her over.  
  
"Had a run in with some nasty men on the street." She told him.  
  
"Are you alright?" He asked.  
  
She smiled. "I'm doing great now thanks to little Mokuba here and you're baby sitter." She said.  
  
Mokuba grinned proudly but Serenity looked even paler than before. Seto noticed this. "Thank you for all of your help tonight Serenity." Seto said. "I'll have the driver pay you and give you a ride home."  
  
"Thank you." She whispered and walked out of the room to get her things.  
  
Seto turned back to Mokuba. "Mokuba, I think it's time for bed." He said.  
  
"But Seto." He whined.  
  
"Not buts. We can talk about this in the morning." Seto ordered.  
  
"Will Mika still be here?" Mokuba looked over at her with hopeful eyes.  
  
"Most likely." Seto said.  
  
"Okay." Mokuba said. He ran to the door not before turning around. "Good night Seto. Good night Mika. It was nice meeting you."  
  
"Night Mokuba." Mika said as she gave him a small wave.  
  
She then looked back at Seto who seemed to have a million thoughts going through his head. She knew he was suspicious about the attackers. She was pretty sure she knew why she was attacked. She really didn't want to explain herself tonight though. She then remembered about her foot.  
  
"Um Seto. I hate to be a bother but I was wondering if you could do me a favor." She said.  
  
"What's that?" He asked.  
  
She unraveled her foot and showed him the glass embedded in the bottom. "Anyway you think you could pull that out?" She asked.  
  
Seto looked at it. He seemed bothered but not disturbed by it. "I think I'd better take you to a hospital." He said.  
  
"No. Please. They'll be waiting for me there." She said.  
  
"Who will?" He asked.  
  
"The guys whom attacked me." She told him.  
  
"I'm going to need a little more clarification on this." He said.  
  
Mika sighed. She was hoping it wouldn't come to this. "You really want to know the truth because I doubt you'll believe me." She said.  
  
"Try me." He said.  
  
She propped herself up on her good arm so she could look at him better. "I'm a secret agent." She said.  
  
"Try again." He said.  
  
"I knew you wouldn't believe me." She sighed.  
  
"Your serious?" He questioned her.  
  
She gave a nod and then grabbed her purse, which was nearly wreaked. She pulled out the small palm pilot and turned it on. She then held it out to him. He read the writing that came up. 'AGENT MIKA WELSH-724'  
  
He looked back at her. "You ARE serious." She leaned back. "You've been infiltrating my company, haven't you?" He hissed.  
  
She laughed at this. "No offense Seto but I've already told you once. I'm the best at what I do and if I'd been sent to take over you're company I would have done it a long time ago." She smirked.  
  
He didn't respond. He was still angry about what he was hearing.  
  
"I'm an inactive agent. I haven't done a mission in a while now. I'm pretty sure the agency thinks I'm dead. Either that or they want me dead. That's why they would have sent those men after me."  
  
"You think it was your agency?" He asked.  
  
She nodded. "My suspicions say so but I've been wrong before. Either way someone wants be dead." She said. "Don't think I'm out to get you Seto. If anything, I want to help your company." She said.  
  
"Why? And why should I believe you?" He asked.  
  
"Because that's all there is. My word. That's all I have to offer and the fact that I caught that weasel Joseph for you. I'd be more than happy to help remove any other traitors within the company but for now I'm stuck here trying to avoid becoming worm food." She said.  
  
Seto was still unsure of what to think of this. He stared at the palm pilot in his hand and at her. He had to admit. If she'd been out to get him she probably would have done it a long time ago. She was a great worker. He could take the chance. What? With his company? He shouldn't risk it. She was really hurt though. He really hated having to choose.  
  
"Fine." He said.  
  
"Fine?" She asked.  
  
"Yes. Fine. I'll take your word. But if you double cross me I will make you pay. You can be assured of that." He said.  
  
She nodded. "I understand completely. Now about my foot." She said.  
  
Seto looked back down at the large wound in her foot. He knelt down and held the piece of glass in his fingers. "Hold still." He said.  
  
"Ow!" She shouted. "Don't twist it!"  
  
"I'm not twisting it!" He snapped.'  
  
"Yes you are!" She said.  
  
"Stop whining and hold still." He said. He held her foot and gently pulled it out. She gave a little squeal but then relaxed a little. "Thank you." She said.  
  
He gently patched up the wound on her foot. "Your welcome." The two sat in awkward silence for a moment. "I'll take you up to one of the guest bedrooms." He said.  
  
"I'm fine really." She protested.  
  
"I'm not going to let you sleep on the kitchen floor." He said. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her up to one of the rooms. She rather liked the feeling of being carried by him. It was nice. HE gently lowered her onto the bed and pulled up the covers over her. He began to leave.  
  
"Seto?" She said. "Thank you again."  
  
He nodded and went down stairs to take care of the puddle of blood in the hall.  
  
MESSANGER SYSTEM  
  
Harper: Those idiots!  
  
HotPink: I'm sure it was just a fluke.  
  
Harper: They missed. They had one job and they missed.  
  
Cruel2BU: We are in a lot of shit. A lot of shit!  
  
Harper: Don't you think I already realized that? The boss is gonna be really pissed.  
  
HotPink: I talked to him and he wants to take the job under his control.  
  
Harper: He gonna kill us!  
  
HotPink: Don't worry about her. The boss will have her dealt with. We just have to follow orders and try not 2 piss him off again.  
  
Harper: That's it?  
  
Cruel2BU: That's never it.  
  
Harper: We are so dead.  
  
HotPink: Not is she's dead first.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 8  
  
Reviews Please!!!! 


	7. Out of the OrdinaryAn Ordinary Day

Lila: Thank you so much for all of the great reviews Mika means "new moon"? Hmmm. I've been working on that character for a long time and I always find giving the name to be one of the hardest parts of it. Mika was a name I picked out for her a long time ago. It is very coincidental that its meaning is so fitting for her.  
  
Seto: (taps his foot) Can we get to the story now?  
  
Lila: (glares) Have some patients or so help me I'll make Mika fall for Joey.  
  
Mika: Why should I suffer?  
  
Joey: Hey!  
  
Mika: No offense Joey but you just aren't my type.  
  
Lila: Just do the disclaimer you guys.  
  
All in Unison: Lila doesn't own Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Behind All the Masks  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Mika snuggled deep into the cushions. The bed was fantastic. She could barely feel the pain in her shoulder. It had probably mostly healed anyway. She was a quick healer. Even so she didn't want to get out of the bed. She closed her eyes and released a deep sigh. Suddenly an unknown figure jumped up onto the bed. Mika used her cat-like reflexes and had the figure pinned to the bed before it could make a noise.  
  
"Wow. You're fast." Mokuba said.  
  
"Mokuba!" Mika said once she became aware of what she was looking at. The boys seemed startled but amused by her reaction.  
  
"I scared you really bad." He laughed.  
  
"Yes you did." She smiled. "And you're gonna pay for it."  
  
Mokuba's face became worried. "What are you going to do?" He asked.  
  
"I'm going to tickle you to death!" She shouted and began tickling his sides.  
  
Mokuba squealed and began to have fits of laughter. "Okay. I give up!" He shouted between breaths.  
  
Mika pulled back and sat cross-legged on the bed. Mokuba looked down. "Hey. Where did the hole in your foot go?" He asked.  
  
Mika looked down. All that was left was a small fading line of where the glass had been. "It must have healed from all of your super help last night." She said.  
  
Mokuba beamed with pride. "I'm just glad I could help. Do you want some breakfast?" He asked.  
  
"Sure. What do you have to eat?" She asked.  
  
"Lots of stuff. I can get the chef to cook you something. Or I could make it for you." He said hinting towards one side.  
  
"I would love it if you would cook me breakfast." She smiled.  
  
"Great!" He cheered, "I make the best omelet in the world!"  
  
"Sounds good." She smiled. Mokuba hoped off the bed and Mika went and took a shower before coming downstairs. She looked at the plate already set out for her. The omelet looked really good. She couldn't remember the last time she had anything but a pop tart for breakfast. She sat down and ate away. She noticed Mokuba staring at her from the other side of the table waiting for approval.  
  
"It's fantastic Mokuba. I've never had a better omelet." She said. He seemed pleased by this and ate his own.  
  
Seto came walking down the stairs reading the morning paper. He looked at Mika. "I see that you are feeling better." He commented.  
  
"Much better actually. And thank you for lending me some of your clothes. My dress was pretty much destroyed last night." She said.  
  
Seto nodded. He grabbed a cup of coffee off of the counter and then sat at the table. "I'll have a driver take you home after you are finished breakfast."  
  
"Does she have to go Seto?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"Don't whine to your brother Mokuba. I've more than over stayed my welcome. I'm just grateful that you two helped me out last night." She said.  
  
"You're welcome." Mokuba said. Seto didn't answer. Mika felt her heart go down to her toes. He must still be really pissed with her.  
  
After breakfast Mika packed up her purse (or what was left of it) and climbed into the back of the car. Mokuba stood on the step and waved her goodbye.  
  
"So where is your home little miss?" Allen asked.  
  
"On 3rd and Main. It's in the apartment buildings." She told him.  
  
He nodded and drove off toward the location. They pulled up to the building and Mika felt and intense chill. She felt her life being threatened again. They'd staked out her house. She examined it through the window. She spotted the gentlemen sitting on the step. An obvious look out disguised as an old man reading the paper. She also spotted movement up on her balcony. Shit!  
  
"Something wrong Miss?" The driver asked.  
  
She sat back. "Yes actually. Could you take me back to the Kaiba residence?" She asked.  
  
"Why's that Miss?"  
  
"I forgot something. Sorry."  
  
The driver accepted it and drove back to the mansion.  
  
Once she arrived she knocked on the door and Seto answered. "What are you doing back here?" He asked in an un-welcoming voice.  
  
"Hello again." She said. "From the sounds of it you are really sick of me."  
  
"Who is it Seto?" Mokuba asked as he fit his head through the crack in the door. "Hi again Mika!"  
  
Mika gave him a sweet smile. "I was just wondering if I could rent out one of your guest bedrooms for a while." She said.  
  
"What's wrong with your home?" He asked.  
  
"I have unwelcomed visitors and they don't look like they are going to go away anytime soon." She tried best to explain. She didn't want to worry Mokuba.  
  
"Can she stay please Seto? She's really cool." Mokuba said.  
  
Mika gave Mokuba another smile. "So how about it. I can more than afford boarding price."  
  
Seto huffed a little and scratched his head. This girl had gotten herself into a lot of trouble. "Fine. But only because of what you did for me at work. That's it. Consider us now even."  
  
"All ready considered." She said.  
  
Seto stepped back and let her back in. "You will need your things I presume." He said.  
  
She gave him a grin. "I don't think I could get to them. But all of the personal stuff is locked up really good. They'd never find at it or be able to get at it."  
  
"Then what will you do for clothes?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"If I could just use your phone. I have a friend who can help me out." Mika said.  
  
Within minutes Mokuba had lead her to a phone in a private den. She picked it up and dialed the number. Someone finally picked up. "Hello?" A groggy voice said.  
  
"Sorry. Are you sleeping in today?" Mika asked.  
  
"Hey kid. What's up?" Riley asked.  
  
"I've got some bad men on my tracks. Some higher power has sent out a goon squad to kill me. They almost succeeded last night." Mika told him.  
  
"You must be losing your touch." Riley teased.  
  
"Still got away didn't I?" She asked.  
  
"I guess. So let me try to guess what's going on. You made it to a home that helped you out and then when you headed back to your little loft you found the goons had already staked it out. That means you have none of your clothes, possessions or any of your gear. That also means you have no way of dealing with these jerks and putting an end to it. How close did I get?"  
  
"Right on the money. Do you think you can get me some new stuff?" Mika asked.  
  
"Sure thing. Where are you at?" He asked.  
  
"You're gonna laugh." She said.  
  
"Where are you?" He asked.  
  
"I'm at the bosses house. I'm staying at Seto Kaiba's house!" She snickered. Riley couldn't help but laugh. "That's hilarious. I guess you had to explain yourself to him. You'd better watch out for his little brother though. These men that are after you must be ruthless. If anything happened to that little kid, Seto would lose it and probably start with you."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind." She said.  
  
"I'll be over in two hours." He said.  
  
She hung up the phone and walked back into the hall. Mokuba was waiting for her. "All done?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah." She said.  
  
"Great. Let's play games until your new stuff gets here." He shouted.  
  
"Mokuba, you'd better lay off of her. She's probably not feeling to well still." Seto said.  
  
"I'm fine." She reassured him. "Me and Mokuba here will have a great time together." Mokuba jumped up and down a couple of times and then ran into the living room. Mika was about to follow when Seto grabbed her arm. She turned to look at him.  
  
"If these guys are as bad as you make them sound then I will help you put an end to them." He said. Mika said thank you. "But be warned. If things start to get unsafe around here you are gonna have to explain this all to Mokuba. You may have to explain it to him anyway. I don't want his life at risk here." He said.  
  
Mika nodded. "I won't let anything happen to him. You have my word on that."  
  
Seto released her arm. "Why don't you come play games with us?" She asked.  
  
"I should get some work done." He said.  
  
"Oh please. You did that all week. Come take a break with us. You look like you could use it." She said.  
  
He seemed hesitant but then followed her in after Mokuba.  
  
They played for hours and eventually started playing a racing game on the console Mokuba had gotten for his birthday. "I'm going to beat both of you!" Mokuba cheered.  
  
"How are you going to do that? I'm way in the lead." Seto said.  
  
"Not for long." Mika told him. She knocked his car off of the screen.  
  
"You're not playing fair." Seto warned her.  
  
"It's perfectly fair." She said.  
  
"She's right Seto. It isn't against the rules to push the other cars around." Mokuba told him.  
  
"And for that. I win!" She shouted. She turned to Seto. "I win! I win! Na na na na na na!" She teased him.  
  
He glared at her for a moment and then tackled her to the ground. "Now this isn't fair." Mika said.  
  
"It's perfectly fair." He said.  
  
"He's also right Mika." Mokuba said. "There isn't a rule saying he can't"  
  
She growled and tried to over power him but she couldn't. She struggled hard against him. "Well, if I'm going down. I'm taking you with me!" She shouted. She grabbed Mokuba by his leg and dragged him over. She began tickling him. Then Mokuba began tickling Seto who happened to be very ticklish. This allowed Mika to break free and tickle Seto. Seto fought back against them until they were too tired from laughing.  
  
Seto couldn't remember the last time he was this at ease. Nothing seemed to bother him at all. He felt himself smiling with almost no effort.  
  
The fighting had become chaotic and Mokuba rolled out of the mess to avoid being tortured anymore. They ended with Seto hovering over top of Mika's face. He felt that magnetic force drawing him in again but this time he pulled away from her before anything could happen. He wouldn't let it happen again. In his mind it would never happen again.  
  
Mokuba looked at the clock on the side table. "We need to get ready. We have to go get supper before the movie."  
  
Seto looked at the clock. "Your right. Go get cleaned up and we'll get going." Both the boys stood up and began to leave. Mokuba turned and saw Mika lying on the floor. "Seto? Can she come too?"  
  
Seto turned and looked at her. "If she would like to." He said and walked up the stairs.  
  
"Will you come?" Mokuba asked.  
  
"I don't want to bother your brother." She said.  
  
Mokuba ran over and jumped into her lap. "OH please come. You won't bother him. It's going to be a great movie. You'll like it. It a James Bond Movie."  
  
"Why would I like that?" She asked.  
  
"That's what you do isn't it?" He asked.  
  
Mika was shocked. "What make you say that?" She asked.  
  
Mokuba blushed. "Don't tell Seto but I stayed up last night and I listened on the staircase. I heard everything." He said.  
  
She brushed back his hair. "Oh Mokuba. I'm so sorry."  
  
"Sorry? For what? I think it's so cool. You're a spy. Like James Bond only better. I bet you have better gadgets and cars than he does." He said.  
  
She laughed a little. "Sometimes. But James Bond is still pretty cool." She said.  
  
"Could you show me some?" He asked.  
  
"Maybe another time." She told him.  
  
"OK." He said. "But will you come with us to the movie?"  
  
"I don't think your brother wants me too. I think he's mad at me. Plus it's probably not safe for me to go outside with all those bad guys after me." She said.  
  
"Seto isn't mad at you. He just acts that way sometimes. You'll see. He's really nice once he gets to know you. I think he does like you because I saw him looking at your picture on the computer last night." He said.  
  
"Did you go to bed at all last night?" She asked.  
  
Mokuba blushed. "Eventually. Please don't tell Seto." He begged.  
  
"I won't" She told him.  
  
"Plus. If you're gonna be like James Bond or even better than him, you can't be scared of the bad guys." Mokuba said.  
  
"I guess not." She said.  
  
"Oh please come." He begged her. He gave the sweetest puppy eyes she'd ever seen and she finally caved.  
  
"Alright. You win. I'll go." She said.  
  
Mokuba hopped up saying how great it will be and went to get ready. Riley soon dropped off Mika's stuff and she quickly set it in her room and got changed into her own style of clothes. Riley had picked out a very good wardrobe for her. She rushed downstairs and into the car with the guys. The dinner and movie was great. Although Mokuba and Mika had gotten bored at some points and started throwing popcorn at a rude old man at the front who was saying how bad the movie was loud enough so most of the theater could hear. Seto had glared at them for it so they started throwing it at him instead. "Hey! That one hit me in the eye!" He hissed under his breath. The two only giggles and continued throwing the popcorn until one of the workers of the Movie Theater came up and asked them to stop.  
  
Mokuba watched James Bond fly around in a very fancy looking car. "Have you ever had a car like that?" HE asked Mika. Mika grinned because she actually had to think back. "No. But I once had a speed boat and it was much nicer than his." She said.  
  
"Cool." He said.  
  
After the movie they were headed to the car when they ran into a group of people. "Hey Seto!" On cheery voice said.  
  
"Hello Yugi." Seto said. Yugi was with his friends Joey, Tristan and Duke. It was some sort of guy's night out which Seto was thankful he hadn't been invited to.yet.  
  
Yugi looked a lot different from high school. One specific thing was that he'd finally actually grown to a normal height. If anything he was taller than the average person his age was supposed to be. He was very proud of it. Mind you he almost regretted going through all the growing pains at once.  
  
"Hi guys!" Mokuba said a little too loudly. He was relatively hyper from all of the candy Mika had bought him. Seto had warned her about the side effects of candy on Mokuba but she found it more amusing than anything. Seto rested a hand on Mokuba's shoulder to try and at least hold him to the ground.  
  
"Hey there Mokuba." Joey said. He then whistled. "Hey, you're the cute bartender we met a while back at the club right?"  
  
"Yep." She said. "You're the one that all the bartenders were worried was having and epileptic fit on the dance floor that night."  
  
Seto couldn't cover up his laugh at this comment. Joey gave her a little bit of a peeved look. "What's your name?" He asked.  
  
"Mika." She told him.  
  
"Pretty name for a very pretty lady." Duke flirted. "My name is Duke." He swept up her hand and kissed it in a suave manner.  
  
"Now aren't you the smooth operator." She teased.  
  
Seto felt his face get hot. He figured he was just getting over tired. "You guys want to go to the bar with us?" Tristan asked.  
  
"Thanks but we have Mokuba with us." Seto said.  
  
"Go on Seto." Mokuba said. "I'll go home by myself in the limo. You never get out enough anyways." He said.  
  
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Seto said. "I promise to go to bed Seto." Mokuba said.  
  
Mika leaned down. "Why do you want us to go to the bar so badly?" She whispered.  
  
He leaned into her ear. "He really doesn't get out enough Mika." He told her. "I promise to go to bed. Really."  
  
Seto looked like he was going to be sick form the thought. "I really don't like this at all." Seto said.  
  
Mika sighed. She knew it was wrong to leave him alone like that. "How about tomorrow night? Are you guys available to go out then?" She asked.  
  
"Sure. I'll get Tea and Mai to come along too so you won't feel uncomfortable being the only girl." Joey said.  
  
"How about that Seto? We'll go home tonight and go out with them tomorrow." She said.  
  
"I have work to do." Seto said.  
  
"You are the worst liar." Tristan said.  
  
Seto sighed. This was the third time this month he was being looped into going out when he didn't want to. "Fine." He said.  
  
"Great. We'll see you then." Yugi said. They waved goodbye and walked over to the car.  
  
"Nice friends you have." Mika commented.  
  
"Yeah." Seto said.  
  
They all climbed into the car unaware that they were being watched from on top of the Movie Theater.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 8  
  
REVIEWS PLEASE! 


	8. Dream Land

(Lila stares at last update). Wow! What a gap!  
  
Seto: Why have you taken so freaking long!  
  
Lila: Calm down Seto! I've been really busy. Really really busy. To the point I have been missing sleep.  
  
Seto: So?  
  
Lila: Thanks for the compassion you jerk!  
  
Seto: I think you still need some more sleep.  
  
Lila: Probably. Anyway. Here's the next chapter.  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Mika felt the world pull from underneath her as she fell into the center of the earth. Suddenly a great darkness over took her and all of the sensations in her body were gone. She couldn't think.she couldn't see.she couldn't do anything.but she knew she was still there.  
  
Suddenly, like rain, colors and images began to form around her. She felt sensations and emotions again. Things were different though. They felt familiar too. She suddenly realized where she was and felt her heart sink into her feet at the thought of what she knew to be true. She knew that soon she would see images that she wished she could have washed away. She almost wished she could go back to the dark place where she felt nothing but she knew that was impossible. She'd have to face it.again.  
  
She walked down the small and narrow street. It was very beautiful all around her. She was in the middle of a small town in Italy. The streets were narrow and built up with stone walls. A place she had came to love so long ago. She walked down the street and turned the corner. She could see them again. The people she'd been following for the last twenty minutes. She just had to know where they were going. Their heads bobbed up and down amongst the crowds and while it was hard to keep an eye on them she continuously saw the red dress of the woman jump out from the other colors in the swarm.  
  
They turned into the small alley and she followed. Careful not to be seen or heard...she followed. She knew this all off by heart. She sat up on a crate, covered in old nets and watched them slip into a small door on the side of the building. When the coast was clear, Mika slipped into the door along behind. It was dark and musty in the room. It felt very un-welcoming and in the pit of her stomach she knew something was terribly wrong. She watched the young woman and her companion walk to the other end of the room where there was a group of gruff looking men. The one greeted them kindly and shook the man's hand. He seemed too friendly from what Mika could see from her hiding spot. She stared on with fascinated eyes. What was all of this? They negotiated for a while and it suddenly became clear that the man that had great the couple was not pleased with things.  
  
He waved his hands and his associated advanced on the poor couple. The couple was not poor at all though. The couple fought and easily won against them. They ran for the door but it slammed shut before they could even touch it. They turned to the man that still remained standing. He was smiling a sick and twisted smile at them and he said. "If you do not face your past when it is present, then it will always come back to haunt you." He said. The couple yelled that he'd never get away with it but then a man that had been lurking in the shadows made his presence known and shot down the couple before they had a fighting chance. The man laughed at the sight of the couple dying in their puddle of blood and walked out the door. Mika sat in absolute shock.  
  
Her parents were dead.  
  
Mika shot up in her bed. Her heart was pounding and her face was covered in sweat. She let out a couple of intense breaths and then calmed herself. She was soon able to sit back as her muscles relaxed and her mind became a little less disoriented. She hated that dream. She grabbed the glass of water off of her nightstand and took a long drink from it. She laid back into the sheets and tried to sleep for a while but realized that it was a lost cause. She decided to get out of bed and go through the bags, which Riley had left for her.  
  
She opened the first bag and found a large amount of clothing and shoes. This pleased her. Some of it was rather casual and some of it almost looked like something from a Tiffany's Store. She moved onto the second bag and found a suit. It was a tight black, full body suit, made of a very durable and stretchy material. There were pockets on it for different things and hooks for others. Hey, every agent needed a good boy suit. It was one of the best out there. I was very durable, fire proof, waterproof. It was coated with a light metallic alloy that helped with bullet proofing. Maybe Mokuba was right. She was a little like James bond. She then reached further into the bag and pulled out a palm pilot. A new one. She hooked it up to her old one and downloaded all of the old information onto the new one. Once that was complete she began to investigate the other gadgets he'd left for her: A few nice handguns and a professional double edge, diamond dust coated hand knife. There was a shock gun, a laptop, a hook launcher, a crossbow, a security jammer, a box of specialized putty and rubber for forming masks. Paint, colored contact lenses, a voice scrambler (she'd invented), a voice editor (also invented) and many other knick-knacks that she could use. She investigated everyone very carefully to make sure they hadn't been bugged or tampered with. Once she was satisfied she decided to try sleeping again. She crawled back into the bed and within a half an hour fell back into a deep sleep.  
  
The world was gone again. A new one replaced it. She was twelve again and she was sitting in a chair in a sterilized looking office. A man walked in and gave her his condolences. She didn't want them. She wanted her parent. The man only opened up several files and explained to her everything that she'd wanted to know for the last five years of her life. Her parents were agents and they'd been killed in action. The man went on to explain that they had done an excellent job of training her in martial arts and simple electronics and that one day she might be as good of an agent as they were. He was assuming that was what she would want. He also explained that for now, she would have to live with one of her relatives that her parents had chosen in the case of an emergency. He felt that their choices were poor and decided to send her elsewhere. He gave her no choice. She was shipped off to a small orphanage in Ireland. Ireland was the home of her father. It was a beautiful place. So green and pure looking. She didn't take in any of its beauty though. She kept to herself and talked to no one. She didn't want to talk to anyone. The other kids made stories up about why she acted this way. Eventually she was an alien to the others. They wouldn't even give her a second glance if they could avoid it.  
  
Eventually a man came and adopted Mika. Said she was just the type of child he wanted to raise. Things looked hopeful for her but that thought was shattered by the treatment she received from this man. He drank and did things to her that no child deserved. He made her hate. He made her hurt. She despised him in every way and one night, to save her own life. She stabbed him with her butter knife on the table and ran out of the house. This didn't kill him. He ran after her with outraged eyes. Mika tried not to look back but the look in his eyes was mesmerizing. She was terrified.  
  
All of this had made Mika what she was. She couldn't trust people. She was not anti-social or mean to anyone but She was scared of what they could do to her. This wasn't the way she thought but deep inside of her she was still scared. She always hid her true emotions behind a mask that she had developed a long time ago. No one was aloud to see behind it.  
  
This second dream caused Mika to wake up again in terror. This time she screamed and began to swing frantically at the dark. "No! This isn't happening to me!" She said. She felt a pair of arms latch onto hers. They were trying to hold her still. "No Please!" She shouted.  
  
"Calm down!" The voice hissed. She opened her green eyes that were matched to his blue ones. He was staring at her with intensity but she saw the gentle concern hovering behind them. "Calm down." He said again.  
  
"Seto!" She cried. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to take deep breaths. She held onto him for dear life.  
  
He was shocked by this reaction but patted her on the back softly. "It's okay." He said. It was all he could think to say.  
  
He sat on the edge of the bed holding her in his arms. She soon calmed down and releases him from her grip. "I'm so sorry." She said.  
  
He gave her a sexy half smile. "It's alright. We all have nightmares." He said.  
  
She felt herself weaken a little at how cute he looked sitting there. His hair was all ruffled from sleeping and stuck out all over the place.  
  
"What time is it?" She asked.  
  
"It's 6 in the morning. I was just getting up to go for a run." He said.  
  
"At six?" She asked.  
  
He nodded. "I'm guessing you won't be able to get back to sleep. Do you want to come along?" He asked. He figured it might be a nice change of pace to have someone to run with.  
  
She sat for a moment. "Sure. I don't see why not." She said.  
  
He got off the bed and went to go get changed as she did.  
  
The two met downstairs and headed out towards the back. It was very lovely out side. The sun was just starting to add colour to the sky and the morning air felt cold and clean against their skin. They jogged down the trail together, eventually agreeing on a jogging pace. She was actually enjoying this. It was nice to get out and moving one in a while.  
  
That's when it happened.  
  
The loud noise of the gunshot pierced the air so clearly that all the bird in the surrounding trees scattered into the sky.  
  
"Holy shit!" Mika hissed. The two ducked to cover behind some bushed until they heard the second shot.  
  
"They're shooting at you Mika." He said. "I knew this sort of shit was going to happen."  
  
Mika examined to area from behind her bush and then her eyes widened. "They aren't shooting at me." She said.  
  
"Then what are they shooting at?" He asked.  
  
"You." Mika said. "I have to get you out of here." She said. She pulled a small clip out of her hair and pressed on the end.  
  
"What are you doing?" He asked. He kept his eyes sharp increase he saw anyone advancing.  
  
"Saving your ass." She said, The end of the clip began to blink. Seto was getting irritated. "How do you know they are shooting at me?" He asked.  
  
"Because when we were out on the pathway, you were bent down tying your shoe. They bullet went right over your back. If they'd wanted to shoot me, they would have aimed for me." She said.  
  
Just then, are car tore around the corner, gunning it's engine. "There's are escape." She said. She grabbed Seto by the arm and ran him over to the car. They tumbled into it and the car squealed out of the area.  
  
They reached the house and both ran in the front door. "Thanks Riley!" Mika yelled back at the car as he drove off. Seto ran upstairs to Mokuba's room. He was still okay. Seto sat back relieved. He walked back downstairs and found Mika looking through his mail. "What the hell are you doing?" He demanded.  
  
"This." She said. She handed him the unmarked letter. He opened it and read it aloud. It was letters that had been cut out of a magazine.  
  
YOU AND YOUR COMPANY ARE AS GOOD AS MINE  
  
He stared back up at Mika. "Is this some sort of sick joke?" He demanded.  
  
"No." She said. "I knew they weren't after me. It's you they want. They think they can use me to hurt you. They must be pretty stupid. "She commented.  
  
"I'm calling the police." He said as he went for the phone.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She said.  
  
"Why not?" He asked.  
  
"This isn't just some weirdo stalker trying to take you out Seto. Theses people mean business. It's probably some big corporation. They'd have connections all over the town. Even the police. You'd only be asking for trouble by calling them." She said.  
  
Seto sat the phone back down. "What should I do then?" He asked.  
  
She looked him straight in the eyes. "First. You need to get Mokuba to a safe house. He's not safe here anymore. If you trust me. I know a good place he can stay." She said.  
  
Did he have a choice? He nodded and she continued. "I then suggest you pack a bag. Nothing to heavy. Just essential. Things can be bought as needed. A gun is always helpful. I'll bring my supplies too."  
  
"Are you implying that you're going with me?" He asked.  
  
"I'd assume so. I'm your only hope of putting an end to these creeps." She said.  
  
"I can take care of myself." He hissed.  
  
"If it weren't for me, you'd be dead by now." She said. "I know this is hard for you Seto but you have to trust me. I won't let them win." She assured him. He looked at her with emotionless eyes and then up in then direction of Mokuba's room. He sighed.  
  
"Let's get moving." He ordered.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 9  
  
Reviews please. 


	9. Road Trips

Lila: I'm incorporating a song fic into this chapter of the story. It's the song 'fire escape' by fastball. I hope it fits in well!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 10  
  
They had packed everything up and were almost set to go. Mika and Seto had both talked to Mokuba about what was happening and he'd seemed okay with it. Actually, he was kind of excited. Mika had gotten him to the safe house with no problems and was now back at the mansion. She was finishing her packing. Seto walked into the room. He couldn't help but look at her. She was wearing tight blue jeans and a black tank top. He felt like she was TRYING to tease him. He felt his face becoming warm again but just shook it off. He was acting ridiculous. " Ready to go?" He asked.  
  
She looked up from her laptop. "Almost." She said. She turned back to the screen and continued her typing. Seto walked up and curiously stared at the screen. "What is this?" He asked.  
  
She paused for a moment. "I'm scanning the Kaiba Corp. Network for any possible hack jobs or suspicious messages." She said.  
  
"You think it's someone in the company?" He asked.  
  
"Hell no. I think that there is someone in the company that can link us to the person responsible for all of this crap." She continued to type. "Well looky here." She commented.  
  
"What is it?" He asked.  
  
"I found the missing link." She smiled proudly and adjusted the screen so that he could see what she was looking at. He gasped. It couldn't be. A picture of Kaiba's trusted chauffeur Allen came onto the screen. "How can this be?" He demanded.  
  
"Relax Kaiba. He isn't a threat." She commented. "Yet." She continued to type for a few moments and then a large red box popped up onto the screen. "Shit! You and your damn security." She commented.  
  
"Have to keep people like you from snooping around." He said.  
  
"I guess I'll just have to do this the old fashioned way." She said. She closed the laptop and slipped it into her bag. They walked out with their thing to the large garage. "Nice cars." She commented. She studied them both with sparkling eyes.  
  
"Which one should we take?" He asked.  
  
She studied them for a moment. "That one."  
  
She was pointing to the more expensive of the two. It was the custom made convertible Porsche. The girl knew a good car when she saw one. She hopped in the side door while tossing her stuff into the back along with his. He started the car up and they pulled out of the garage. As they pulled out and started to leave the compound Mika spotted Allen. "Stop the car." She ordered. Seto came to a halt and she hopped out and walked over to Allen. "Evening Allen." She said cheerfully.  
  
"Evening Miss." He replied.  
  
"Tell me Allen. Could I borrow a small bit of your time?" She asked.  
  
"Certainly Miss. What can I do for you?" He asked.  
  
"You could tell me who you're working for." She said.  
  
"Why I work for Mr. Seto Kaiba Miss. You know that." He said. "No. I mean. Who are you WORKING for?" She said.  
  
He still held the look of confusion on his face but Mika could see underneath that it was breaking. "I'm confused Miss." He said.  
  
She grinned. "If you play nice and tell me then I won't have to use force on you."  
  
"Like I said Miss. I don't know." He said.  
  
She then realized that he WAS telling her the truth. Whom ever it was he was working for had him scared stiff. He was trying to cover it up as best as he could.  
  
"Are you being treated well Allen?" She asked.  
  
He gave her a weak smile. "As best as you could expect in my situation." He replied. Translation: (No.)  
  
"Would you be wanting another vacation soon?" She asked. (Do you need my help?)  
  
"Actually. The last one was just peachy. I should be good for a while." (They won't hurt me. I'll be fine)  
  
"Where did you go on your trip?" She asked. (Do you know where they work from?)  
  
"I wanted to go to Italy but I ended up going to California." He said. (Their main work place is in Italy but they have a smaller work force in California)  
  
"Best wishes Allen." (Be careful) "If anyone asks. We went on a VERY LONG car ride."  
  
"Yes Miss." He said and walked on.  
  
Mika walked back to the car and got in.  
  
"Well?" Seto asked.  
  
"To California." She said.  
  
Seto drove out of the compound and out of the city. They realized that they were supposed to go out that night with the group but figured they'd get over it. Soon they were on the highway. "So what's going on?" He asked.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~ I don't want to be President  
  
Superman or Clarke Kent  
  
I don't wanna walk 'round in their shoes  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
"This goes way beyond what I thought it did. There's a lot more to this whole problem than I thought." She said. "At first I thought it was just one of your rival companies but know I think there is someone a lot more powerful in all of this." She was almost speaking to herself.  
  
"Do you know who?" He asked.  
  
She shook her head. "Not a friggen clue. I do know that they want you dead, control of your company and me out of the picture. Maybe they want me working for them. I doubt that. They probably want me dead too."  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
'Cause I don't know who's side I'm on  
  
I don't know my right from wrong  
  
I don't know where I'm going to  
  
I don't know about you  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
"How can you be so casual about this?" He asked. "Someone wants you dead."  
  
"The sad thing it that this is fairly routine for me." She grinned. "All in the days work of a secret agent."  
  
"You just accept it?" He asked.  
  
"Why shouldn't I?" She asked.  
  
"You may just think I'm some cold calculating business man with a sick obsession over a bunch of playing cards but even I know there is more to life than your work." He said.  
  
"Well.you've got one thing right but I'm listening." She said.  
  
"What about friends or family?" He asked.  
  
"Sometimes to protect the people you love you have to leave them alone." She said.  
  
"That doesn't sound very loving to me." He said.  
  
"What do you know about love?" She snorted.  
  
"Apparently a lot more than you do." He commented.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
I'll be the rain fallin' on your fire escape  
  
And I may not be the man you want me to  
  
I can be myself. How 'bout you?  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
"Oh really? How?" She asked.  
  
"Mokuba." He said.  
  
She sat for a moment. "Well you left him behind now didn't you?" She asked.  
  
"I'd give my business away right now if it meant I could go back to my brother safely but that isn't exactly possible." He said.  
  
"So you're blaming me?" She asked.  
  
He banged on the steering wheel in frustration. "That isn't what I'm saying at all!" He shouted. "I'm saying that you have to realize that the people you care about need to see you once in a while too. I mean. What about your parent?" He asked.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
I don't want to make you mad  
  
I don't want to meet you dad  
  
I don't want be your dream come true  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
"There dead." She said.  
  
Seto sat for a moment. "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay. It was a long time ago. They were agents like me and they were killed during a mission." She said. "That's sort of why I became an agent. I wanted to catch the creep that killed them."  
  
"Did you?" He asked.  
  
"No. Never found him."  
  
"It's hard losing your parents. I lost mine in a car accident." He said. Why the hell was he opening up like this?  
  
"Really? That means you must have been a orphan too." She said.  
  
He nodded. "Till I was adopted by Garbonzo."  
  
"I got adopted eventually too." She said.  
  
"What was you're adopted parents like?" He asked.  
  
She sat for a moment. "They were like my real parents." She said. A memory of running through the small house trying to escape from her adopted father flashed through her mind and she shuddered.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
Cause I don't know just what I've found  
  
I don't know my sky from ground  
  
I don't know where I'm going to  
  
I don't know about you ~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
The two sat in silence for a long while. "Anyway. I don't have anyone that I'd need to go see or visit anyway." She said.  
  
"That's pathetic." He said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's pathetic." He repeated.  
  
"How is that pathetic?" She demanded.  
  
"You have no one. No one at all. You're even worse than me." He said.  
  
"Shut up!" She snapped. "I've got you don't I?"  
  
"You just met me." He said.  
  
"So? You're the closest thing I've had to a real friend in a long time." She said.  
  
Seto sat for a moment. She was calling him her friend? That's not what he wanted her to call him.wait! What the hell was he thinking? He shook his head trying to shake the thoughts out one ear.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
'Cause I'll be the rain falling on your fire escape  
  
And I may not be the man you want me to  
  
I can be myself. How 'bout you?  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
"Are you tired? I can drive if you want." She offered.  
  
"I'm fine." He said. "We should find a place to rest soon anyway. The car needs gas." He stared at the near empty gauge.  
  
She gave a nod. "We can stop at the next motel if you want."  
  
"Are you sure that's what you want?" He asked. "You seem to have rather expensive taste." He commented as he looked through his car.  
  
She gave him a weird look and then grinned. "I'm not some snotty bitch that needs a fancy place to stay. I just like the Porsche over the Lincoln that all." She said.  
  
"What's wrong with the Lincoln?" He asked.  
  
"Nothing. I just don't like it." She said.  
  
"It's a great car."  
  
"Ya. Right." She said.  
  
"I can't believe you hate the Lincoln." He said.  
  
"Pay attention to the road. You're going to miss the turn off." She pointed to the big sign. He turned onto the off ramp. "I can't believe you hate the Lincoln." He repeated.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
I'll be the rain falling on your fire escape  
  
And I may not be the man you want me to  
  
I can be myself. How 'bout you?  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
"Oh shut up!" She said rolling her eyes at him. They pulled in and got a room with two beds in it. They walked into the motel room with their bags.  
  
"What do you have against the car?" He asked.  
  
"Why are you obsessing over the car?" She answered. She went into the bathroom and changed into a work out top and some flannel bottoms for her PJ's.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
I can be myself. How 'bout you?  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
"I just don't see what's so bad about it." He said.  
  
"Nothing! It's a great!" She shouted. He went and got changed.  
  
"Better than the Porsche?" He asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?" He asked.  
  
"It's a fine car. I just have my preferences." She said as she sat her stuff down and hopped onto one of the beds. "If it makes you feel any better I'm sure Claire would LOVE the Lincoln over the Porsche." She said.  
  
"Shut up." He said.  
  
"She's such a sweet girl too." Mika said. She pulled the pillow off of the bed and held it in her arms. "Oh Seto. What a wonderful car. I bet it cost you so much money too." She said in a mocking voice.  
  
"Shut up." He said as he sat down his bag by the other bed.  
  
"Oh Seto. What a big house you have." She said. "All the better you let you stay in." She said in a deeper voice."  
  
"Shut up." He said.  
  
"Oh Seto. What a big wallet you have." She said. "All the better to carry my credit cards in my dear."  
  
"Shut up!" He said a little louder.  
  
"Oh Seto. I'm a big skank! What a big car you have." She said. "All the better to use the back seat to."  
  
"That enough!" He shouted. He tackled her on the bed with intense force. She was shocked by this move and felt her arms instantly pinned to the bed. She laughed and screamed at the same time. He couldn't help but laugh a little to. They suddenly became very quiet realizing their position on the bed. They stared into each other's eyes for a while. The magnets pulling then together were getting even stronger.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
I can be myself. How 'bout you?  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
Mika lifted her head and brushed her nose against his almost like a gentle Eskimo Kiss. She then sat back and looked him in the eyes. "A big bad wolf like you deserve something a lot better than a skanky Goldy locks like her." She said.  
  
"Thank you." He said softly. He sat up and walked over to his bed. "Good night Mika."  
  
"Good night Seto." She said.  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
I can be myself. How 'bout you?  
  
~^~^~^~^~^~^~  
  
END OF CHAPTER 10  
  
How was it? Reviews please! 


	10. THE INDUSTRY

Lila: Hmmm. I'm getting the impression people aren't liking this story.  
  
Seto: Don't even think about it.  
  
Lila: What?  
  
Seto: I see that pair of scissors!  
  
Lila: (hides hands behind her back) I don't know what you're talking about.  
  
Seto: Do it and I'll have one of the Yami's send you to the shadow realm.  
  
Lila: Stop being so paranoid and so the disclaimer.  
  
Seto: Lila doesn't own Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Seto stirred from his sleep. The light was shining through the cheap cotton material that had been made into a makeshift curtain. It didn't seem to serve any purpose as he could clearly see the Porsche through the closed drapes. Seto stretched out in the bed that began to squeak as he moved. He sat up and examined the room. Everything was as it had been left except for Mika's bed which was currently empty.  
  
"Mika?" Seto called. No one answered. He got out of bed and went into the bathroom. He slipped out of his clothes and climbed into the shower. The shock of the cold water that hit him first caused his whole body to seize up until it slowly turned warm. All his tensions washed down the drain at the feel of the heat. He washed off and got dressed. He walked back out into the other room and still found that Mika was not there. Where could she have gone? He decided to wait and see if she would return and started rummaging through his bag. He found his dueling deck in his bag and began rummaging through it. He found one of his Blue Eyes White Dragons and stared at it. He then began to think about his little brother. How was he? Was he safe? Seto remember the phone number Mika had written down for him if he wanted to check on him. He pulled out the balled up piece of paper and picked up the phone. He was about to dial when he realized the mistake he was making. He set the phone back down and walked to the door.  
  
As he opened the door he felt the sun wash over him giving his skin Goosebumps. It was warmer than the other day. Still no sign of Mika. Seto looked around and found what he was looking for. He walked over to the phone booth and dialed the number. Mika would have killed him if he'd used the motel phone. Where was she anyway? The phone rang and an older man with a deep voice answered. "Hello?"  
  
"I'd like to speak to Mokuba please." Seto said.  
  
"Who's I?" The man asked.  
  
"It's his older brother." Seto said.  
  
"Seto? Just hang on a sec." He said. The phone was muffled for a few moments and then Seto could hear someone pick it up and started rambling.  
  
"Big brother? Hi! How are you? I'm having so much fun! Riley is so cool! Are you having fun? Where are you? When are you gonna be back? Have you ever seen the Old Bond Movies? Riley has all of them! He's so cool! Mika is cool too! How is Mika? Has she used any of her cool gadgets yet?"  
  
"Slow down Mokuba!" Seto said. "Has Riley given you sugar?"  
  
The phone was quiet for a moment. "Just a little and he said he's not gonna give me anymore." Mokuba whined.  
  
"It's probably for the best. You sound as wound up as a top." Seto said.  
  
"Maybe two." Mokuba said.  
  
"I just wanted to see how you were." Seto said.  
  
"I'm fine. How about you?"  
  
"I'm fine Mokuba" Seto said.  
  
"Good. I have to go now so you take care." He said.  
  
"Okay! Bye Seto!" Mokuba said.  
  
"Bye Mokuba." Seto said. He didn't hang up until he heard the click on the other end of the line. He then walked back towards the motel and stopped at the vending machine. He bought a Pepsi and walked back to the room. When he walked in his nose was greeted with several delicious scents. He found Mika sprawled on her stomach on his bed. "Morning sleepy head. You really like to sleep in don't you?"  
  
"I woke up at 8." He said.  
  
"Doesn't matter. You want some coffee? I got bagels and cream cheese and all sorts of food at the restaurant just down the street." She said.  
  
Seto walked over to the multiple bags on the coffee table and too out one of the bagels and an orange juice box. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked over her shoulder. She was running her fingers over the trails on a road map. "So where are we going today and why?" He said.  
  
She flipped over onto her back and propped herself up. "We need to go to California. There's a group working in Los Angeles that may have connections to all the trouble we've been having."  
  
"How can you be so sure?" Seto asked.  
  
"It's all we have to work with. I have no other leads so we have to work with what we have." She said.  
  
Seto looked into her eyes for a long time and then broke free from the stare. "So let's get going." He said. He got up and put his things into his bag.  
  
She got up and walked to the door with her own things. After Seto had checked them out of the motel they started back on the road. It was a fairly quiet ride. Mika reached into her bag and pulled out her laptop. She began logging onto the Internet and searching.  
  
"What are you looking for?" He asked.  
  
"A group called the INDUSTRY." She said.  
  
"They're a rather large group of underground crooks in Los Angeles that are known for dealing mostly with scandals and the black market. They were involved in one big case though.It was called the Black Dagger Case."  
  
"What was that?" Seto said with actual interest in his voice.  
  
"It was actually a neat case. You see. THE INDUSTRY has been around for a long time. They always initiate new people on a regular basis. The case happened in 1971. There was a hotel called the Royal Cabeza. Why it was named that I don't know. It was one of the hottest hotels in all of New York though."  
  
"They were in New York?"  
  
"They were all over. The INDUSTRY has people working all over the place.Australia, Hong Kong, France."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"Anyway, it was such a popular place. All of the big names went there: celebrities, tycoons.everyone wanted to be seen in this hotel.  
  
"So what happened?"  
  
"There was a huge business convention. All the big corporations had their men there promoting the business. That week there was over 50 murders." Mika shut off and closed up the laptop. "All of them were business men there for the convention. The most intriguing part of this was that at each murder the words "Black Dagger" were written somewhere. On paper, on a computer.even in the victim's blood on the wall. It was really disturbing."  
  
"So how did they get caught?"  
  
"They were getting ready to pick off another business men and the hit man slipped up. Literally. He was trying to kill the man in his shower and the sloppy businessman had made a mess of the floor. The crook slipped on the floor and hit his head on the counter and was out like a light. The businessman found him and had him arrested. When the crook came to, he sang like a canary and told the authorities everything he knew. They traced it back and found that the INDUSTRY had been hired by the owner of one of the companies that had been in the convention to try and 'remove the competition. The sicko."  
  
"What was the purpose of writing 'Black Dagger' everywhere though?" He asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. I've always wanted to know. The police never could figure it out. It could have just been their calling card. Anyway, ever since then the INDUSTRY had been a neutral group. They haven't done much more than a couple of drug deals. I have a feeling that they might have been offered a rather handsome price to take care of you." Mika told him.  
  
"How can you be so sure?" He asked.  
  
"That's just it. I'm not. I want to verify it though." Mika continued to stare out the window.  
  
"Why don't you just hack into their files?"  
  
"I can't. I would if I could but I can't. The information I need to get my hands on has it's own private server. No connections to anywhere else. The industry is a serious group and doesn't want any slip-ups. The only way to access the information is to be connected to the server itself." She explained.  
  
Seto stared forward at the road. He gave a small grin. "Oh goody. A challenge."  
  
"A big challenge. These guys aren't very friendly and really don't like people snooping around." She told him.  
  
"So what do you think we should do?" He asked.  
  
"Let's get to Los Angeles first, then we'll deal with how we get in." Mika said.  
  
"Shouldn't we at least start planing?" He asked.  
  
Mika grinned. "No wonder you're such a great business man. Always prepared."  
  
Seto looked at her for a moment with a smirk on his face. Mika looked forward and her face quickly drained of all its colour. "Oh Shit!" She shouted.  
  
Seto snapped his head forward just in time to see the spikes lying in the middle of the road. He felt the air release from the wheels of the car and began to spin out of control.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 11  
  
Cliffies.I've already been strangled once for leaving people hanging but sorry. Gotta do it this way. It will only make it more difficult for me to type the next chapter if you people keep cutting off my air supply though.  
  
REVIEWS PLEASE! 


	11. Bleeding

I'm not sure what rating scale I'm supposed to go buy for these fics but I guess I need to crank this one up a notch. We are now at an NC-17 rating for this movie.  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 12  
  
The accident happened so quickly. Inside the car though, they felt like they'd been spinning forever. The next couple of seconds were wiped from their minds as they felt the car roll over off to the side of the road and the world went dark.  
  
Mika opened her eyes a few minutes later. She was hanging by her seat belt since the car was on its side. She examined herself quickly.nothing was broken. Relieved by that, she looked down at her companion below. "Oh no." She gasped.  
  
Seto was lying very still at what was now the bottom of the car. His head was badly gashed and he was bleeding a lot. Mika slipped her foot onto the dashboard to prop herself up enough that she could undo the seat belt. She cringed a little in pain. She hadn't broken anything but her ankle was pretty sprained. That would heal in about two days she thought. She undid the seat belt and stood in the hole in the window next to Seto. She looked out the front window. The engine was going to catch on fire soon. She could her it smoldering. She undid his seat belt and then reached above her to open the passenger side door. She tried a few times to carefully pick Seto up but her was rather heavy. She grunted and then checked him over for broken bones. There were none. She then forcefully picked him up and slung him over her shoulder and lifted him through the hole above. "Man you're heavy!" She grunted. She then leapt out and pulled him to the ground. Once they were finally out she dragged him a good safe distance from the car. She checked him over. "Oh thank god! He's still breathing." She cried.  
  
She remembered how badly he was bleeding and ran back to the car. She grabbed all of their stuff and brought it back next to him. She rummaged through her bag and couldn't find any bandages or gauze. "For crying out loud Mika!" She yelled at herself. "You prepared for everything EXCEPT injury?" She then pulled out a black scarf. "It'll work." She said. She pulled Seto head up and began to wrap the scarf around the wound on his head. "Wake up Seto." She said. He didn't. She knew that if they were going to get out of there he'd need to be mobile. She did the only thing she could think to do. "WAKE UP SETO!" She screamed and slapped him across the face. This actually worked. Seto's eyes flashed open like and his face became disoriented. He soon realized his surroundings and groaned.  
  
"How badly is the car damaged?" He groaned since his back was facing the car. The car engine exploded and debris flew everywhere. They were far enough away to avoid being hit. "You don't wanna know." She said and patted his arm.  
  
Seto sat up with a half groan and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He checked to see if it still worked. "I guess I'll just call for a new car." He said.  
  
"Have you learned nothing from me?" She said. "Were dead if you call for a new car."  
  
Seto sighed. He was getting rather irritated with this. He wished he could just go back home to his little brother and work on his technology. He knew that also was pretty much impossible. "So what do you suggest we do?" He asked.  
  
"We hitch hike." She said getting off the ground.  
  
"Hitch hike? We'd be safer calling for a car." He said.  
  
"Relax. We'll be fine." She assured him. She reached into her bag grabbed two guns and his diamond coated knife.  
  
"If it's so safe, why are you getting those out?" He asked.  
  
"It's always good to be prepared." She explained. Seto rolled his eyes and they walked out the road. She handed him one of the guns she'd been carrying and they waited by the edge of the highway.  
  
They stood there for hours. A few cars went by but none of them stopped. Occasionally either Seto or Mika would yell at the cars as they passed them. Those hours turned to many hours and soon they were half sitting, using each other to prop themselves up. They were almost asleep when a large van pulled up to the side of the road. This drowsed Seto and he nudged Mika. "Looks like we got a ride." He said. They walked over to the diver side window and look in. Seto frowned. "Let's wait for another car." He said.  
  
"Funny Seto." Said the driver. "Maybe for once in your life you should try being grateful. I mean, the glass isn't ALWAYS half empty."  
  
"Neither is the dog dish apparently." Seto teased.  
  
"I will leave you on the side of the road." He said.  
  
"NO Joey just ignore him. He's lost a lot of blood so he's a little moody." Mika explained.  
  
"Well, Okay. Hop in." He said and the side door opened.  
  
"Hello again beautiful." Duke said from the side door.  
  
"You too?" Seto groaned.  
  
"Don't forget me." Said the boy in the passenger seat.  
  
"Tristan? Why are you guys all out here?" Mika asked.  
  
They hoped in the car with their things and started to drive. "We're headed to California to find us some cute beach girls." Joey grinned.  
  
"I swear Joey, is that ALL you think about?" Seto asked.  
  
"Does it matter? Hey should we get Seto to a hospital?" Joey asked.  
  
"No. There is one place you guys could stop for me though." Mika said. "It's on the way."  
  
"Sure, not a problem. Right Joey?" Tristan said.  
  
"Of course. Anything for such a pretty lady." Joey grinned.  
  
"Leave her alone." Seto snapped.  
  
"What's wrong Kaiba? You're not jealous are you?" Duke said.  
  
"What? Jealous? Hardly." He said.  
  
"Leave him alone guys. He's disoriented." She told them. They eventually reached their needed destination, which was a small town in the middle of no where. "Where are you going?" Joey asked as he watched Mika escort Seto towards a small shop.  
  
"I have to take care of him. If you go down the street and take a right, there's a bar." She said. "I'll come get you when we're finished. Mika strolled him over to the shop and walked in. The emotions in the room hit her again. This place had been greatly disturbed. She backed out and set Seto against the wall. "You stay here till I get back." She ordered.  
  
"Why should I?" He asked.  
  
"You want to live?" She asked. Seto didn't seem to care. The blood lose must have really been getting to him.  
  
She rolled her eyes and leaned down. She gave him an intense kiss on the lips. "That's why." She said. Seto responded better to that and nodded his head. She walked back into the room with gun drawn from her side. She examined the room. She'd thought she'd just meet Charlie but his whole place had been trashed. She walked around carefully and found tables flipped over. Cabinets had been raided and files were vomiting papers all over the place.  
  
Charlie had been Mika's other partner when she worked for the agency. They'd done so many cases together she was like his little sister. Charlie could be a bit of a loose cannon though. His temper was short and he tended to let it out on the wrong people. But he was a good guy in all. She hoped he was okay.  
  
She stepped carefully over boxes and then what she'd feared.blood. There were stains on the carpet and handprint's on the wall. What made it worse was that it was fresh spill, it hadn't coagulated yet. This meant the attacker was still in the building with the victim.  
  
She walked over to an old wooden staircase that circled up into the next level where Charlie's apartment had been. She stepped up the stairs carefully, trying not to let them creak too much. She reached the top and opened the small door in the narrow hall way with her gun poised. She walked in and heard a weak scream. She was getting really close.  
  
Then room stank of blood and urine. She nearly gagged but held strong. The pictures on the wall had either been torn down or smashed and there were papers burning in the fireplace. Mika walked over to the bed room door. The doorknob was covered in blood and there were a few bullet holes around the entranceway. She heard another scream. Right behind the door and a muffled voice talking. She opened the door and caught the tail end of the conversation.  
  
"-He'll never want you again. My crew was hired to make sure of that." The man said. He turned and saw Mika staring at him with her gun pointed right at him. She looked at the scene. The bed had been shredded and there was blood everywhere. She then saw Helen, Charlie's wife, being held by the attacker. She was bleeding and torn up a lot She was gripping to the last few shreds of life in her.  
  
"Put her down." Mika ordered.  
  
"You must be Mika. I didn't expect you to be so early." The man and. He slapped Helen one more time and threw her on the bed. "I'll be back for you bitch." He then turned his attention to Mika. He looked at her with a grin on his face. This was some sort of sick game for him.  
  
"You're gonna be sorry you did that." Mika hissed. The two took a shot at each other and both missed. Mika advanced on his and grabbed his wrist. She pulled his arm straight out till it looked and then karate chopped it with the other. The clean crack of his arm was followed by a scream. He let go of his gun and she picked it up off the floor she then held both of them to his head. "Who sent you?" She asked.  
  
"I don't know." He said.  
  
"Who sent you!" She ordered him to speak and held the guns tighter to his head.  
  
"I don't know! My boss just gave me the file." He said.  
  
"Okay, I'll rephrase it them. Who do you work for?" She said.  
  
"I'll never tell." He said.  
  
"If you value your life then you will." She said.  
  
The attacker laughed. "A little girl like you doesn't have it in her." He said.  
  
Mika glared at this comment and moved the guns to a different spot and fired. The attacker screamed as the bullets hit his feet. "Okay! I'll talk!" He screamed.  
  
"What his name?" She asked. "And don't lie. I'll know if you're lying."  
  
"Mr. Anthony Williams." He said.  
  
"I said don't lie." She said and shot him in the foot again.  
  
"Okay!" He screamed in pain. "His name is.I don't know. He doesn't have one."  
  
"You're feet are gonna start looking like Swiss cheese." She said pointing the guns back down.  
  
"No! You don't understand. He's.he's never told anyone. We all call him Mr. Cabeza." He said.  
  
Mika continued to listen. "I swear that's all I know."  
  
"That not true. Where is the hive in California?" She demanded.  
  
"The hive?" He asked.  
  
"Don't play stupid." She snapped.  
  
"There's a corner shop on 5th and Main in Los Angeles. You go there you'll find what you're looking for." He said.  
  
She reached into her pocket and held out a small packet. "Eat this." She ordered. The attacker didn't want to be shot again so he did as he was told. "What was that?" He asked.  
  
"A monitor. I'll will let me keep tabs on you and it's specially triggered to release a shock around electronics such as a telephone.in case you try to contact one of your boys." She smiled. "If you try to double cross me you'll wish you'd never been born." She warned. "Now get out." She ordered and the attacked stumbled out. She then turned to Helen on the bed. She ran over. There was now saving her. She was almost dead. "Helen.I'm so sorry." She said.  
  
"Mika.child.So good to see a friend. Thank you for teaching him a lesson.Just like.the old days." Helen smiled weakly.  
  
"Yeah. Just like the old days." Mika said and stroked what used to be beautiful silk blonde hair now matted by her own blood. "It's gonna be okay."  
  
"Don't patronize me child." Helen hissed. "I know my time is up."  
  
"I just." She started to say.  
  
"It's okay." Helen was at a whisper now. "Charlie."  
  
"He's not here." Mika told her.'  
  
"Charlie.the coin.in the case." She said.  
  
"What? What happened to Charlie?" Mika asked.  
  
"Coin.be careful." Mika heard theses last word before she died. She laid Helen back on the bed and turned away. There was no time to grieve right now. She walked down the stairs and looked in the back room. She found the kit and the drugs to stitch up Seto's head. She pulled him in a tended to his head. Seto grunted but the freezing was doing it's job on removing the pain. She cleaned him up and led him back to the Van. She set him up in the back. "You need to sleep and recover." She told him. Seto didn't argue and went back to sleep.  
  
Mika walked back up to the shop and back inside. Her eyes scanned the room. What coin?  
  
She examined all the display cabinets but found nothing of interest. There were some cigars, jewelry and some pictures.  
  
Most of the pictures were of old Victorian homes and small animals, except for one.It was a drawing actually. It had a cat's eye, a bull, a lightning bolt and a star. She opened the case and ran her fingers over the picture. It was attached to the bottom of the cabinet. She pulled out her necklace and slipped it on top of the cat's eye. The panel came loose a reveled a secret compartment. "Well, well, well." She said.  
  
She picked up the matchbox in the compartment. She smacked herself for not realizing it. The matchbox was for the Royal Cabeza hotel. INDUSTRY was after them for sure now. That's when she saw the coin too. She picked it up and examined it. The coin seed normal till she flipped it over. It had two faces. Mika pocketed the coin and the matchbox and walked out.  
  
She decided to change in the car and wash off the blood with the hose next to the shop. She was almost cleaned up when the side door on the van opened up. She screamed. "Get out!"  
  
The boys slammed the door shut again quickly. "Sorry." Duke said through the door.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 12  
  
REVIEWS PLEASE 


	12. WARNING R Material IN This chapter

Sorry Little Chickies But.RATED R RATED R RATED R RATED R!  
  
Behind All The Masks  
  
Chapter 13  
  
The inside of the van hummed like it was full of bees as Joey steered it down the road. Seto had woke up and was sitting in the large open space in the back with the Duke and Mika. Tristan had stayed up front to make sure Joey didn't fall asleep behind the wheel. Mika tried making small talk.  
  
"So Duke?" She asked. "What do you do for a living?"  
  
He looked up at her. His eyes sparkled at the question. "I'm the proud owner of a game shop and the entrepreneur that invented Dice Duel Monsters." He said.  
  
"I know that game." She said. "It's actually kind of fun."  
  
"How about you Mika? What's sort of jobs did you have before you became Seto's poor slave?" He teased. Seto glared at him.  
  
"I was a bartender for a while. Before that I used to make money playing guitar in a little bar." She said.  
  
"Really. You don't look like the type." Duke said.  
  
"What do you mean?" Mika asked.  
  
"I mean, I don't know. A bartender and a local band? It sounds so." He drifted off.  
  
"Purposeless?" Seto asked.  
  
"Yes. That's it. You just look like a person that should have such a greater purpose in life than fixing a bunch of sleazy men some drinks." He commented.  
  
"Thank you Duke but I am what I am." Mika commented.  
  
"And that is indeed a great thing." He said in a suave manner. He swept up her hand again and kissed it. Mika couldn't help but giggle a little. He was pretty smooth. Seto felt his face getting warm again.  
  
"So where are we taking you?" Duke asked,  
  
"I was wondering if you could drop us off in Los Angeles." She said.  
  
Tristan turned around in his seat. "I don't think we should leave you in Los Angeles all alone with Seto." He said. "We can stop and come with you."  
  
"We'll do fine on our own." Seto said.  
  
"I'm not letting you get all the pretty ladies Seto." Tristan grinned.  
  
"I'm flattered Tristan but I don't want to detain you from your voyage." She said.  
  
"Nonsense. We'll be all right. Won't we Joey?" Tristan looked up at the driver.  
  
"Sure thing. Don't you worry one bit Mika." Joey said. "We'll have a great time in Los Angeles. We can even stay in one of those ritzy hotels with Seto's money."  
  
"You're not spending my money." Seto said.  
  
"Oh come one Seto. I know the perfect hotel." Mika cooed realizing the rare opportunity. She cuddled up next to Seto and placed her hand on his arm. He felt Goosebumps travel all the way up to his shoulder. She was staring straight into his blue eyes. "We can go to the Royal Cabeza." She said. "Remember I mentioned it before?"  
  
Seto's brain clicked. "Fine." He sighed then gave her a half smile. "But it's going to cost you."  
  
"Fair enough." She said and sat back from him. Duke moved over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Do you like basketball?" He asked.  
  
)))))))))  
  
They reached Los Angeles that night. The lights of the city sparkled like diamonds in the sky. They all gazed out the window at the sight and listened to all the noises. They eventually found the hotel and got the only two hotel rooms left that night. "We should have called for reservations." Seto said.  
  
"How can a hotel with this many floors be that booked?" Joey asked.  
  
"It's only one of the finest sir." The man at the desk said. "Mr. Cabeza himself has a prestigious reputation he upholds in this place."  
  
"Dude. The man named the hotel after himself? Hey Kaiba! You and this guy would get along great." Joey said.  
  
"Mr. Kaiba?" The man at the desk gave him a funny look. "You wrote Mr. Anderson on the check."  
  
"Kaiba is a nick name. It basically means workaholic." Mika lied to the desk clerk in the sweetest manner she could. The desk clerk smiled. "I see." He said. He handed them the two keys and they all headed upstairs.  
  
"Well Mika. It looks like the boys will have to take the one room and you'll have the other all to yourself." He said.  
  
Mika saw two big flaws in that. She needed to have someone else around incase she was attacked and she's also made it appear she was married. She'd need one of the guys in that room with her. "I really don't feel safe in the room alone." She said.  
  
"I'll share with you Mika if it would make you feel better." Duke said.  
  
Seto felt his face getting hot now but he still kept quiet.  
  
"Gee. I don't know." Mika said. "I barely know you."  
  
"I guess that means you and Kaiba will share. You lucky dog." Joey smacked Seto on the arm. Seto cringed slightly in pain. He was still hurting from the accident. "It's not like that Joey." Seto said.  
  
Mika felt her heart crash down into her shoes. "We'll then what is it?" Tristan asked. "You give her gaga eyes every time you look at her."  
  
Seto didn't answer. The elevator reached the floor and they exited the elevator. Seto and Mika entered the one room.  
  
"Good night boys." Mika smiled and gave them a wink.  
  
"Good night." They said.  
  
Joey was busy unlocking the door and Tristan smacked Duke over the back of his head.  
  
"What the hell was that for?" He demanded.  
  
"Do you have to try and steal everyone's woman?" Tristan demanded. The boys entered the room bickering.  
  
Mika turned on the light in the room and looked around. It wasn't too bad. Actually.it was great. The reds, purples and gold colors flowed from the walls and the tapestries.  
  
"Nice." She said. "Definitely an upgrade from the motel."  
  
"I guess it's to make up for the down grade in transportation." He commented as he tossed his bag next to the one bed.  
  
"They aren't that bad." She said.  
  
"I no. They're even worse. I was referring to the van. That thing is gonna fall apart if a good enough gust of wind hit it."  
  
Mika laughed slightly and proceeded to take off her jacket. She hissed in pain as she removed it. Seto walked over. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Oh. I must have cut myself on something." She said.  
  
"Let me see." He said.  
  
"Oh no Seto I'll be okay."  
  
"Let me see." He said in a stern tone.  
  
She took off the jacket and sat on the edge of the bed. Seto sat behind her and examined the wound. "This was no accident." He said. "You were attacked. Was this when I was-"  
  
"Yes." She said. "There was a man in the shop. He killed a lady friend of mine. There was a fight and he must have cut me."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.  
  
"As if you would have remembered. You were so out of it." She said.  
  
"Is anything else hurt?" He asked.  
  
"Just my neck. I pulled it. Now stop fussing." She said.  
  
"I'm not fussing. I'm just worried." He said.  
  
"That is fussing. You're worrying to much."  
  
"I'm just making sure you don't get yourself killed. What the hell am I going to do if you get killed? I don't know any of this Mission Impossible crap." He said.  
  
She laughed and turned to face him. "Is that what you think of me?"  
  
"That's not what I meant." He said.  
  
"Right." She grinned at him.  
  
"I just..I just want you to be careful." He said.  
  
"That's so sweet." She said.  
  
"Don't look into it to much. It's strictly a business matter."  
  
"So your brother is just business to you?" She said.  
  
"Stop twisting my words." He ordered.  
  
"Or what?" She said defiantly.  
  
He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward. "Be cause I said so." He said coldly.  
  
Her eyes got teary and her face tightened in pain. He realized her arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."  
  
At that instant she pounced on him. "Ha! You DO care!" She giggled. "You should know that us secret agents are great actors too."  
  
"Very funny." He said. They held there for a moment. Mika couldn't take it anymore. She fell onto his lips and kissed him so softly.  
  
Any discipline Seto had was shattered by that kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and deepening the kiss. His hands traveled up her back, exploring the curves of her figure. Mika gasped as his hands glided around on her skin. Seto rolled her over and aloud him self further into her. His mind began to return to reality and he pulled away gasping. "I can't do this." He said.  
  
"Why not?" She asked.  
  
"Because. You're my employee. My ally." He said.  
  
She ran her hand up to his face and trailed his hands along his jaw line. "Why do you let an occupation stand between your feelings?" She asked.  
  
"It isn't right."  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"Says. Says." He couldn't some up with an answer.  
  
Mika lifted her head and brushed her lips against him. "You don't have to hide from me. I promise I won't hurt you. I know that something has hurt you Seto and I want to make it go away. I just want to see you being happy for once in your life. I don't want to hide from you Seto so why do you keep hiding from me?"  
  
Seto couldn't put it into words. There was only one thing he could do. He lowered his mouth to hers and returned back to the world he was in before. It was perfect there. Nothing could hurt him there. Why did he hide from her? She obviously cared about him too. What was stopping him? How about his moral beliefs? This was wrong. He just met her less that a year ago. What was he thinking just diving into a relationship like this? It would only make things more complicated.  
  
He shut off his mind. Who needs it? It was just getting in the way of this. He had pulled away most of her clothes and stared at her perfect figure. He didn't deserve this kind of happiness. He began to explore her body with his lips and enjoyed listening to all the soft moans and gasps that escaped from her. Mika then returned the favor to his body and then they joined together. There bodies melted together like candle wax, fitting each other in every form. They pulled away from each other exhausted. Mika gently fell asleep in Seto's arms. Seto held onto her gently and brushed his fingers along her cheek. He leaned down and kissed her on the top of her head.  
  
"I love you." He whispered.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 13  
  
Well? Reviews Please! 


	13. A New Breed of Secret Agents

BEHIND ALL THE MASKS  
  
CHAPTER 14  
  
Seto woke up and ran his arm down the bed finding it empty. He stretched out, yawned and looked at the clock. It was now 9:30. He rolled out of the bed and padded into the luxurious bathroom. He had a quick shower and changed. As he walked out of the washroom he noticed the door to the hallway was open.  
  
"Is that you Mika?" Seto asked. There was no reply. Seto walked into the main part of the room and still found no one. "If you're playing some sort of game you can quit it. I'm not in the mood." There was still no answer. "Fine." He said and sat on the edge of the bed. He began to put on his shoes when he felt and sharp pull at his neck. He reached up his hands and found the phone chord has been wrapped around his throat. Seto coughed and attempted to pull it loose. The attacker only pulled harder. Seto then swung at the attacker.  
  
He grabbed the attacker by the jacket and worked his way up to the face. Everything was getting fuzzy now. He couldn't find a way to break free and began to feel dizzy. He then heard a familiar voice. "You must be the laziest dog in the world Seto." Tristan's voice came from the hall. He saw his blurry image come into the room. "What the hell?" Tristan demanded. The room went dark.  
  
Seto felt the soft carpet under him as he laid in a daze. He opened his eyes and saw three people looking down at him with worried eyes. "Are you okay man?" Joey asked.  
  
Seto tried to sit up but all the blood rushed to his head too quickly and he fell back down. "Easy man." You're gonna be okay." Joey reassured him.  
  
Duke helped Seto into the resting position and propped him against the bed. "He'll be alright." Duke told him. "He's more stunned than anything."  
  
Mika's green eyes stared into his with concern. "Did you get a look at the attacker?" Mika asked.  
  
Seto shook his head. "I thought you'd just came in the room." He told her.  
  
She nodded and turned to Tristan now sitting on the edge of the bed writing furiously. "Almost done." He said. He made a few more scratches. "There." He said. "That's the best description and drawing I can give you." He held up the pad of paper to Mika who looked it over carefully.  
  
"You're not a half bad sketch artist." Mika commented.  
  
"Thanks." Tristan blushed a little.  
  
"I don't think I've ever seen him before." Mika said. Duke leaned over her shoulder and looked at the sketch.  
  
"I have." Duke said. "I saw him downstairs. His pit bull tried to bite me in the lobby when I was getting breakfast."  
  
"So he was staying here?" Mika asked.  
  
"Possibly." Duke said. "He looked like he might have been a guest."  
  
"I hate pit bulls." Seto said and he tried to stand up. Once again the blood shot to his head to quickly and he fell back down.  
  
"Easy Seto. You've just been through hell. Take your time." Tristan said.  
  
"But we need to get going." Seto said. "Right Mika?"  
  
"It's okay Seto. I explained to them what's going on." Mika said.  
  
"You let these nit wits in on it?" Seto said.  
  
"I take offense to that remark." Joey said.  
  
"Fine. Half Wit." Seto replied.  
  
"I'm sure we can trust them." Mika said. "They're your friends and they're rather resourceful. If it hadn't been for Tristan here that attacker probably would have finished you off."  
  
"But her got away." Seto said, finally able to stand up.  
  
"Actually, I caught him and held him for almost ten minutes. No one came to my help though and you weren't breathing. It was eight catch the crook or let you die." Tristan said.  
  
"You didn't." Seto said touching his mouth at the thought.  
  
"I saved you're life for God's sake!" Tristan said.  
  
"Thanks but still." Seto said and gave him a grin.  
  
"Damn. Now I'm jealous." Duke said winking at Seto. Everyone laughed and it lightened the mood. Mika pulled out her laptop. "I'm going to break into the hotels personal files and try to locate our attacker. This may take a while. Joey, the attacker doesn't know you so I want you to go for a little stroll and see if you can locate the pit bull or anyone that looks like the attacker. Trace him if you can but be careful." Mika said. She walked over to her bag. "Better yet. If you can. Put one of these on him somehow." She handed him the little pads of sticky felt.  
  
"What are these?" He asked.  
  
"They're tracers. I can keep track of him and his every move if you find him." Mika said. "He may have already left but it's worth a shot." She then turned to Tristan and Duke. "Go out for a cup of coffee somewhere. Anywhere in fact. I want you to find a payphone and call this number." She handed them a slip of paper. "Tell the man on the line that the CATSEYE needs refunds and he'll give you an address. You follow his instructions. Meet the man. Get the stuff and bring it back here. Got it?"  
  
They all nodded.  
  
"This is so cool." Joey said. "Can we have code names?"  
  
Seto rolled his eyes. "This isn't like in the movies Joey."  
  
Mika piped in. "You're still trainees. Don't fail your mission and I'll consider it."  
  
"Hey. Check this out. I'm Deviln. Duke Devlin." Duke said.  
  
Seto rolled his eyes again and they left.  
  
"Rookies." Mika snorted and began to type. Seto sat for a moment then interrupted her.  
  
"You're not just going to make me sit here are you?" He asked.  
  
"You just recovered from an attack. I need you rested up." She said and continued typing.  
  
"I don't want to just sit here." He said.  
  
"Fine. Come here." She said. Seto walked over and sat down. Mika stopped typing and gave him a long slow kiss. Seto had to sit back for a moment and Mika went on typing. "That didn't seem very productive." He said.  
  
"It was fun though wasn't it?" She said.  
  
"Well-Yeah but uh--." He stuttered.  
  
"Tell you what. If you really want to feel useful now you can set out some of the food I had ordered from the table for us to eat. I'm starving and I'm sure you must be a little hungry too."  
  
Seto sighed. "Fine. But next time I'd like a slightly more challenging job." He said and went to get the food.  
  
"Don't worry. You'll get your chance." Seto got out the food and came back. "Any luck?"  
  
"Nope." She said and continued searching.  
  
"Do you really need to graduate to get code names?" Seto asked.  
  
"Yep." She said.  
  
"When do you graduate?" He asked.  
  
"When you're commanding leader thinks you're ready." She said.  
  
"I take it that's you." He said.  
  
"Damn straight." She said.  
  
"Have I graduated yet?" He asked.  
  
"Nope." She said.  
  
"Am I close?" He asked.  
  
"I'm not at liberty to say." She said.  
  
"Can you tell me anything?"  
  
"I can tell you that Duke's almost graduated." She said. She felt the hot glare from Seto burn her cheek. "I was kidding!" The computer made a small beeping noise. "Here we are. I found a match. Mr. Edward Baines." She scrolled down the screen. "Would you look at that: Pit bull in his hotel suite. Why the idiot is still in the hotel. He didn't even bother to make a run for it. I should have the hotel room in a few minutes."  
  
Joey sauntered around the hotel lobby but didn't see anything too exciting. He walked down the hall and looked into the gym. He ogled a couple of girls exercising for a moment and then moved on. That when he saw it. The pit bull tied up out side the poolroom. He looked in the glass door and the dog growled at him. "Shudup!" He said to the dog that only continued to growl. He looked in and saw a couple lying together by the poolside in lawn chairs and some children playing in the pool. He then spotted the man that looked like the one in the drawing.  
  
"Looks like this is a job for agent 003" He said. He walked into the pool area and headed for the change room.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 14  
  
Don't you hate it when it just starts getting good? Don't worry. I'll update soon. Please review though. 


	14. Things Are Pulling Together

Lila: Alright people I've got a few brief moments to spare so I must choose a story to update. (I only had time for one). Since it has been so long I'm going to update "behind all the masks". It was finally starting to develop a plot. The only problem is that I can't remember what I wrote.  
  
Joey: You were about to make me the dashing secret agent that was going to infiltrate the pool area and uncover the attacker that bombarded defenseless Kaiba.  
  
Lila: OH THAT"S RIGHT! I was just about to make you go in the poolroom and make a complete goon of yourself.  
  
Joey: You what?  
  
Lila: On with the story!  
  
PS: I don't own anything so leave me alone!  
  
BEHIND ALL THE MASKS  
  
CHAPTER 15  
  
Joey walked into the change room for a moment and pulled off his clothes. He'd wanted to go for a swim the whole time. Tristan found it sad that Joey had worn the swim trunks under his pants. Joey placed his clothes in a locker and walked out the pool. The man was still sitting in the hot tub. Joey took a deep breath. He was getting rather nervous now. He walked over to the side of the hot tub and slipped in. He gasped at the sensation of the hot water against his skin and slid deep into the water.  
  
"You're a business man aren't you?" The man in the hot tub asked.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Joey asked.  
  
"Only a true business man would have that many tense muscles to enjoy the water." The man said.  
  
"You pinned me right." Joey said. Actually he was a construction worker as of right now but he figured that was a business and he was technically a man. Business + Man = businessman. TA DAA!  
  
"What company do you work for?" The man asked.  
  
Joey had no idea what to say. He guessed he should try to sound professional. Translation: Lie till he was blue in the face.  
  
"Um. I'm in the stock market." Joey said.  
  
"Really?" The man said. He ran his hand through his thick chestnut hair. "That's a very stressful job I hear now a days. Any tips for someone like me?" He asked.  
  
Joey groaned on the inside. How does Mika do this? "Stay away from wheat shares." He said. He winced out of fear that his plan would back fire.  
  
Fortunately the man seem to know about as much about the market as he did. "Thanks for the tip." He said and leaned back on the side of the hot tub.  
  
Some muffled barking drew Joey's attention. It was the dog outside. "He's a butte ain't he?" The man said.  
  
Joey turned back to the man. "Yeah. The pit bull's yours?" Joey asked.  
  
The man nodded proudly. "Brutes is about 4 years old now and as tough as bricks." Joey hated pit bulls. "I love pit bulls." He said.  
  
"They are great dogs. Vicious killers though." The man commented.  
  
Like owner like pet Joey thought. Joey turned to the man with a smile. "It's been great talking to you but I really must get back to my hotel room. I've got a busy day tomorrow." He said.  
  
"You got a little misses with you eh?" The man grinned.  
  
Joey took a moment to realize what he meant. "Oh.. Uh...Yeah. Ball and chain.you know how it is." He said.  
  
"Fortunately I don't. Free is the life for me." The man said. "I didn't even get your name." The man said.  
  
"It's.um.Keith." Joey said. "Keith Simmons."  
  
"Let's have drinks sometime Keith." The man said. "My name is Edward Baines by the way."  
  
"Drinks? Sure thing. Take care Baines." Joey said and walked back to the change room. He walked in. "Smooth like ice." He complimented himself on the great job. He got changed and walked around the room. "Edward Baines. Edward Baines." He repeated over and over looking for something that belonged to him. He found nothing though. He then got another idea. He didn't want to have to do it. But maybe if he did he could score a date with Mika. He walked out of the change room and into the hall just outside the pool. He heard the familiar growls and turned to the dog.  
  
"Shadup!" Joey told the dog but it continued to growl. Joey pulled out the felt and looked from it to the dog. "There has to be an easier way." He told himself. He couldn't think of one. Joey walked up to the dog and it growled even louder. "Gah!" Joey said trying to protect his hand from the dog's big jaws. How else was he going to do this. Joey tried sweet-talking the dog. "Here boy. That's a good dog. You'll let me give your cute head a pat won't you?" He asked. The dog growled and snapped his jaws at Joey. "Stupid Mutt." Joey said.  
  
Just then, Joey noticed a young boy trotting down the hall towards the pool. He had a hamburger in his little grubby fist and was happily eating away at it. "Hey Kiddo." Joey said. The kid stopped near Joey. "Hiya Mister. Cool Dog!" He said.  
  
"Yeah! His name is Brutes. Say kid. Where'd you get the hamburger?" Joey asked.  
  
"I got it from my mom. She ordered it on the phone." He said.  
  
Joey knew he didn't have time for that. "I'll give you 5 bucks for that hamburger." Joey said.  
  
"No way mister. I'm hungry and this hamburger is really good." He said. He took another bite.  
  
"Please? It's for my dog. He's REALLY HUNGRY." Joey said. How pathetic. Why was he begging a kid. He'd better get a date with Mika for this.  
  
The kid wiped his nose on his arm for a moment. "Tell you what." He said. "You give me twenty dollars for it."  
  
"TWENTY DOLLARS!" Joey shouted. "That's robbery! You've already ate most of it!" Joey cried.  
  
"Take it or leave it." The kid said.  
  
Joey grumbled to himself and leafed through his wallet. "Stupid kid takin' all my money.no good rotten.. Lousy hamburger." He handed the money to the kid and took the remains of the burger.  
  
"So long sucker!" The kid said and took of.  
  
Joey stood for a moment. "You know.. I was feeling a little guilty but know I'm glad I just gave him Monopoly Money." Joey had been relieved that he hadn't cleaned his wallet out in ages and just happed to have the board game money in his wallet. He'd probably put it in there to try and impress the college girls even though he was dirt poor. Well.desperate times call for desperate measures.  
  
Joey returned his attention to the dog and began to advance on it. Brutes growled at Joey again. "Here boy." Joey said waving the food at the dog. "Yummy 5 star hotel hamburger. Yum!" He said. This did win the dog over and the dog took the burger from Joey. " Good boy!" Joey said. He patted the dog on the head and placed the felt under his collar.  
  
"Mission complete!" He said and walked up to Mika and Seto's room.  
  
Mean while out on the docks...  
  
Tristan and Duke sat in the van waiting patiently for the contact as the man had instructed on the phone.  
  
"I'm getting creeped out by this place." Tristan said.  
  
"It's not so bad." Duke said.  
  
"You really think you stand a chance with her don't you?" Tristan smirked.  
  
Duke ran his fingers through his black hair. "Why not? She obviously digs me and we look so hot together." He said.  
  
"Some people just never change." Tristan sighed.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Duke demanded, straightening up a little in the passenger side seat.  
  
"What I mean is that you are so wrapped up in yourself that you can't see what's really happening." Tristan said.  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"That she's into me." Tristan said.  
  
Duke snorted a laugh.  
  
"Think what you will but she's so into me." Tristan said. "The way she looked at me when she saw me rescue Seto."  
  
"In your dreams." Duke said.  
  
"Up yours!"  
  
"Screw You!"  
  
"If you two are about finished." The deep voice said. The boys jumped in fear of the unknown visitor. "Don't get all jumpy now. You've got to get this back to Mika." The man said.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Duke demanded.  
  
"That's none of your concern." The tall man said. His eyes were dark blue and his hair was jet black. He towered over both Tristan and Duke that they found rather intimidating. "Here." The man said. He tossed the bag into the window. "Get back to her pronto." The man turned and the two boys looked at one another.  
  
"That was creepy." Duke said.  
  
"And another thing." The man said returning to the window again giving them another scare.  
  
"Stop doing that!" Tristan demanded.  
  
"Sorry. Tell her that there is a small trio that she may want to look into. Code names: Hot Pink, Harper and Cruel2BU. Understand?" He said.  
  
"Yes sir!" Tristan said giving him a little salute.  
  
"I don't appreciate being mocked." The man glared.  
  
Tristan gulped. "Yes sir."  
  
Meanwhile in the hotel.  
  
Mika had taken a break from typing on the computer. There was nothing else for her to do but wait for them to return. Seto was busying himself by checking reports on his company and the progress.  
  
"Shit." Seto said.  
  
"What?" Mika asked. She rolled over onto her stomach on the bed.  
  
"Another pack of company files have gone missing." Seto groaned. "My whole business is falling to shit."  
  
Mika hopped off the bed and came to sit next to him. "Don't worry." She said. She leaned onto his shoulder. "We'll get to the bottom of this and everything will be fixed."  
  
Seto slowed in his typing and became very aware of his shoulder. He quickly turned and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks." He said and then went back to typing.  
  
Mika watch the screens fly by at a rapid pace but was not confused by anything she saw...until one page appear. "Stop." She said. Seto's fingers froze like ice. "What is it?" He asked.  
  
"There." She said. "Click there." She pointed to the messenger box which said it contain 255 old messaged and 43 new massages.  
  
Seto clicked on the window and a new screen popped up. "What are you looking for?" He asked.  
  
"Doesn't it seem a little odd that there are so many saved messages?" She asked.  
  
"There's always messages." He said dully.  
  
"But not that many. Review some of them." She said.  
  
Seto decided to do so. She'd been right about most things so far. They found random messages of "Congratulations on the New Baby" and "The New Reports are in." all from different employees to different people. Nothing special though.  
  
"See. Nothing." Seto said.  
  
"Is there a recycle bin?" She asked.  
  
Seto made a load humph noise and clicked on the recycle bin in the lower corner. Ten filed popped up. "What now your majesty?" He mocked.  
  
"Stop being so fidgety and review them all." She said.  
  
"This is a waste of time." He said.  
  
"Just do it." She said. "Or you'll be sleeping on the floor tonight."  
  
"You wouldn't dare." He said.  
  
"Try me." She half glared half-grinned.  
  
Seto clicked on the one file and began to read aloud.  
  
"Messengers KittyHope and J-Crew. Jay Crew: How are you doing today? Kitty Hope: Just fine. Looking forward to tonight though. J-crew: Tell me about it. Make sure you where the tight pink one though. You look so hot in it." Seto stopped.  
  
"What's wrong? It was just getting good." Mika teased.  
  
"We're invading workers privacy." Seto said.  
  
"Fine. Move onto the next one." Mika said.  
  
"I'm not reading aloud this time though." Seto said.  
  
He clicked on the file and it popped up.  
  
MESAANGER EMAILING SYSTEM  
  
Hotpink: Can you believe what happened to Joseph?  
  
Cruel2BU: I can't believe he got busted. How did he get busted?  
  
"Looks like busting Joeseph put the others in their places." Seto grinned.  
  
Harper: Forget about him we have more important issues.  
  
Hotpink: Like what? We'll be next!  
  
"Next? What are they up to?" Mika asked with no answer desired.  
  
Harper: Exactly why we have to act now.  
  
Cruel2BU: It's all that Mika Bitches fault. Why did she have to get hired?  
  
"Hey!" Mika said. "There just jealous." Seto wrapped an arm around her.  
  
Harper: Someone must have pulled some strings. We should probably not message like this anymore either. It could be dangerous. She might uncover us with it.  
  
"They were right." Mika said. Hotpink: Right. We'll make this the last one. Then how will we communicate?  
  
Harper: I'll inform you later. For now, we need to deal with the little snoop problem at work.  
  
Cruel2BU: How do you say we do that.  
  
Harper: We have her 'removed'.  
  
"Removed? This is starting to get serious." Mika said.  
  
Hotpink: Isn't there any other way?  
  
Harper: Didn't you hear what happened to Joseph after the bust? Do you want to be next?  
  
"I knew something didn't feel right." Mika said.  
  
Hotpink: NO  
  
Cruel2BU: No.  
  
Harper: Then you know what we have to do. We'll have a privatized lunch meeting tomorrow to discuss possible 'removal' techniques.  
  
Hotpink: We may need to call for some assistance.  
  
Harper: If it comes to that. For now lets all sign off and gets some sleep. Goodnight.  
  
Hotpink: Night.  
  
Cruel2BU: Bye.  
  
Seto leaned back and looked at Mika who couldn't take her eyes off the screen. "I can't believe it. Well. Actually I can but it's still hard to take." She said.  
  
"You were right all along. My business is full of sneaky little rats." Seto pounded on the keyboard. "When I figure out who these people are." He began to say.  
  
"Keep looking. There may be more clues." She said.  
  
Seto clicked on the next file.  
  
MESSANGER SYSTEM  
  
Cruel2BU: Is everything set?  
  
Harper: Yes. She won't know what hit her.  
  
HotPink: R U sure she won't be able to find these messages we are sending.  
  
Harper: There's nothing to worry about. These files will be deleted right after we're finished.  
  
HotPink: Good.  
  
Cruel2BU: So when is it going to happen?  
  
Harper: I've set it up for right after the committee party. She won't know what hit her.  
  
"Those bastards!" She shouted at the screen.  
  
Hotpink: I thought she wasn't going to go.  
  
Harper: She changed her mind as far as I've heard.  
  
Hotpink: This better work or we're all in for it.  
  
Harper: Don't sweat it. There's no way she'll escape.  
  
They sat back again. "So these three are responsible for that attack after the party." Mika said. "This is all starting to make sense.  
  
"You know who it is?" Seto asked.  
  
"I have my suspicions." She said. "I'm not totally sure yet. Are there more files?"  
  
"Yes. I don't want to upset you with these though." He said.  
  
"Seto. I've had worse." She said.  
  
Seto clicked on the next file.  
  
MESSANGER SYSTEM  
  
Harper: Those idiots!  
  
HotPink: I'm sure it was just a fluke.  
  
Harper: They missed. They had one job and they missed.  
  
Cruel2BU: We are in a lot of shit. A lot of shit!  
  
"Beyond shit." Mika said.  
  
Harper: Don't you think I already realized that? The boss is gonna be really pissed.  
  
"Crap." Mika said.  
  
"What?" Seto asked.  
  
"There's a boss." She said.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So that changes everything. That means that there's another person we might know that could be against us."  
  
"Oh."  
  
HotPink: I talked to him and he wants to take the job under his control.  
  
Harper: He gonna kill us!  
  
HotPink: Don't worry about her. The boss will have her dealt with. We just have to follow orders and try not 2 piss him off again.  
  
"Least we know it's a guy." Seto said.  
  
"Yeah." Mika said sarcastically. "That narrows it down from 6 billion to about 3 billion."  
  
Harper: That's it?  
  
Cruel2BU: That's never it.  
  
Harper: We are so dead.  
  
HotPink: Not if she's dead first.  
  
They sat back one last time and just stared at each other. Neither was sure what to say right then but they'd take care of that later. Right now they had to deal with Joey that just came strutting in the doorway.  
  
END OF CAHPTER 15  
  
Phew! I'm all typed out! How about some review eh? 


	15. Reading Between The Lines

BEHIND ALL THE MASKS  
  
CHAPTER 16  
  
Seto's eyes fluttered open as the sunlight glared into his eyes from the window. He sensed the long lean figure in the bed next to him shift around a little and decided not to disturb her. This plan was ruined quickly when the telephone on the bedside table blared loudly through the room. Seto tried to grab it before it woke her but it was too late. Mika sat up and gave a small smile to Seto as he answered the phone.  
  
"Hello?" He said. Irritated that they'd been disturbed.  
  
"Hey cutie!" The overly cheery voice said on the phone.  
  
"Who is this?" He asked.  
  
"That's not what's important right now. What's important is that I have something very precious of yours that you might want back." The person said.  
  
"How did you get this number!" Seto snarled into the phone.  
  
A voice in the background of the phone became very loud.  
  
"Seto! Help me!" Mokuba cried.  
  
"Mokuba!" Seto shouted. "No! Mokuba! Where are you?"  
  
Mika's attention was now drawn to the conversation. All the colour had faded from Seto's face and he looked like he was going to be sick.  
  
The voice came back onto the line. "Glad I got your attention now? Good."  
  
"How did you find him. Riley had him in a safe house." Seto said more to himself in confusion.  
  
"Riley was easy to pick off." The voice said. "You should see the look on your brother's face right now Seto. It's priceless."  
  
"Don't you lay a finger on him. Do you here me! Not a finger! So help me I will hunt you down and kill you!" He screamed.  
  
Mika knew that if she let this continue that it would only get worse. She stroked Seto's arm. "Seto sweetie. Let me have the phone."  
  
Seto ignored her. He was too infuriated. "What do you want money? Fame? Name your price."  
  
"You're brother is quite priceless Seto." The voice cooed.  
  
Mika tapped him again. "Seto. Please. I know how to deal with these sorts. You can't let your emotions get in the way."  
  
Seto heard her this time and grudgingly handed over the phone. She placed the receiver to her ear.  
  
"Hello?" She said.  
  
"Oh-- Mika. Hello there." The voice said.  
  
"Might I ask whose speaking?" Mika said.  
  
Seto was baffled by her phone etiquette in this situation.  
  
"Sorry but that's part of the surprise." The voice said dripping with venom.  
  
"I'm not too terrible fond of surprises you know. Especially in these situations." Mika sighed. She had to keep calm and cool to ensure Mokuba's safety.  
  
"Well you'll just have to suck it up then kiddo." The voice said.  
  
Mika sensed something odd about the person on the phone. She knew they were using a mixer to disguise their voice but a deep nagging feeling inside her was trying to tell her something.  
  
"So when do I get my surprise?" Mika asked.  
  
"Well, I think you've enjoyed your little vacation long enough. I didn't expect that you'd buy it so easily but know that everything is set, you can come home." It said.  
  
Mika's heart sunk into her feet. It had been a setup from the start. The directions, the hints, the industry were all just a diversion. She kicked herself on the inside to keep Seto from seeing how pissed she was at herself.  
  
"So when shall I see you? She asked.  
  
"You won't. But this is only the first step so listen closely." The voice said. "You're going to come home and go to Kiaba's mansion. Get settled in for the long run. Collect 250,000 dollars and bring it to the abandoned Hospital on Fourth and Main on the 15th at 10:30. You should know where it is. You and Kaiba got pretty frisky that one night up on the roof."  
  
How could they have seen her on the roof? It's the tallest building in the town.  
  
"You'll take the money to the roof and drop it in the basket in the middle of the roof. We'll make our trade for little Mokuba up there. Got it?"  
  
"Got it. Ta." She said and hung up.  
  
Seto still looked very pale. His voice had become harsh and raspy. "What did it say?" He asked.  
  
Mika gave an encouraging smile. "We need to get going." She said.  
  
Half an hour later they were downstairs in the van all packed. They drove quickly out of town back to Domino City.  
  
"So explain what's going on?" Joey said.  
  
"It was a red haring." Mika said.  
  
"The Industry is a fish?" Joey asked.  
  
"No you knuckle head." Duke said. "She means that it was a decoy to draw them in a different direction away from the truth."  
  
"Something like that." Mika said.  
  
"So what do we do?" Seto asked. He was fiddling with his hands in worry.  
  
"I make the drop with the money. It's the only way for now." Mika said.  
  
"What?" Seto said. "No way. We go together." Seto said.  
  
"Seto. It said they'd kill Mokuba if I didn't come alone. This one is my battle. You'll get the next." Mika tried to comfort as best as she could.  
  
The rest of the ride was filled with uncomfortable silence. Everyone took turns driving and sleeping. Seto wouldn't allow them to stop for anything. Not when Mokuba's life was in danger.  
  
They soon made it home. The boys dropped Seto and Mika off at the estate. Mika handed each of the boys a pager that would be used when they were needed. Seto and Mika went inside and unpacked. Seto was almost finished when he saw Mika heading out the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" He asked.  
  
"Personal items I need." She said. He hated her being so vague.  
  
"You're lying." He said.  
  
She huffed. "You want to know the truth. I need tampons. That's right, tampons! Surprised? I'm afraid all girls need them. Unless they use pads. I'd use them but-" Mika said.  
  
"Okay Okay. I give!" He said as he flushed from the uncomfortable topic.  
  
She smiled. "You get the money ready and I'll be back in an hour." She smiled. She ran up and gave him a quick kiss then took off. That was the first time since the phone call that Seto had even smirked. His face was beat red from embarrassment for the moment but he eventually returned to unpacking.  
  
Mika did return as promised with a bag, which Seto did not dare to question. They had supper together in silence then Mika went to her room and got her supplies. She dressed in her signature all black bodysuit with belts and straps to hold her random objects. He multipurpose palm pilot, her pager, her two guns, diamond dusted hand blade, climb wire, computer visors and a few small explosives. As she walked down the stair, Seto tried best to hide the fact that he found the way she was dressed to be a turn on. He handed her the bag in silence. She then stood on her tiptoes and brushed his lips gently with her own. Seto couldn't contain it and crushed her lips and snaked his arms around her. He released all his tension and worry into her but it wasn't enough. He soon let her go, knowing she had to get moving.  
  
She looked up at his and brushed his bangs out of his face. "Don't worry." She whispered. "I promise that Mokuba will be okay. I swear my life on it."  
  
Seto nodded. "Look out for yourself too." He said. She smiled and nodded then left the house. She drove to the old abandoned hospital then walked upstairs as she had been ordered. She reached to top and saw the basket just as the voice had said.  
  
She took a step forward. "Not another move!" Shouted the voice. Mika froze. She couldn't blow this. Seto was counting on her.  
  
"Hands up!" The voice ordered. The voice wasn't being mixed now but the person was using an accent to throw her off. Mika raised her hands and waited for the next instruction.  
  
"Step forward three step and drop your guns." It said. Mika did so.  
  
"Now your knife." It said. Mika was confused about how it knew she had a knife.  
  
"Now the explosives." She ordered. This was starting to piss Mika off but she did so.  
  
"Very good." It said. "Now put the money in the basket."  
  
She threw the bag in the basket and waited. A figure came around the corner hold Mokuba by the shoulder.  
  
"Claire." Mika said.  
  
"Surprise!" She said.  
  
"Not really. I saw you as one of the bad guys from a long shot." She snorted.  
  
"But you didn't stop me." Claire gloated.  
  
"You're not exactly a threat." Mika snuffed.  
  
Claire got angry with this. "This doesn't look like a threat to you?" She shouted as she held the gun to Mokuba's head.  
  
"Mika! Help!" Mokuba cried.  
  
"Shut up you little bastard!" Claire snapped.  
  
Mika made a quick move and lit a match over the basket of money. "Let Mokuba go or the money goes up in smoke!" She shouted.  
  
"You wouldn't dare!" Claire snapped.  
  
"If I didn't do this you were going to shoot him anyway. You rookie villains are so predictable." Mika gave an evil smile.  
  
Claire held her place for a moment but then gave in and released Mokuba. Mokuba ran to Mika. Mika turned to Mokuba. "Mokuba, run home. Don't stop running till you're in the house and don't look back. Understand?" She said.  
  
Mokuba nodded and took off down stairs. Mika turned back to Claire and blew out the match. Claire then pointed the gun at Mika. "I may not kill Mokuba but at least I'll be rid of you. Then now one will stop us!" She shouted.  
  
"Wait!" Mika cried holding up her palm pilot. "Don't you want this first?" She asked.  
  
"What's that?" Claire snapped.  
  
"My palm pilot. All my programs, files, documents. With this you could easily break into Kiaba corp. Probably any other business you wanted too." She said,  
  
"I could just shoot you and take it off your dead body." Claire said.  
  
"It'll self-destruct if you do that." Mika said. She had to keep this as interesting as possible or else she was going to be pumped full of lead.  
  
"Come forward slowly then." Claire said, not taking her eyes off Mika. Mika inched forward and held out the palm pilot. It was just within Claire's reached when Mika pressed a small blue button on the side setting off tear gas. Mika took off to the edge of the building and did a dive off the wall. Claire took two shots. The first one missed Mika by a long shot. The second one hit Mika right in the chest as she dove down. Claire ran over to the side of the building and looked over the edge. Down below was Mika Welsh, lying on the ground. Dead.  
  
END OF CHAPTER 16 Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter. I've been having major writers block but I finally think I've got it running again. Please tell me what you think. The more reviews I get the better! 


	16. The Standoff

Chapter 17

More Answers and More Questions

Mokuba burst in through the front door of the mansion. "Big Brother. Big Brother!" he cried. He tore around the house like a mad demon.

"Mokuba?" A voice yelled from upstairs.

"Big Brother!" He yelled. He turned fast on his heel and made a dash for the stairs. Kaiba was already at the bottom of the step. Mokuba dove into his brother's chest. "Oh Mokuba, thank God you're okay."

"I'm okay, but Mika is in a lot of trouble. That secretary of your has her held at gun point on top of the building. She's gonna shoot her!" He was crying now. Suddenly the life of James Bond just seemed like too much for him.

"Stay here Mokuba, I want you to put on the full security in the house and I want you to hide in your tunnels in the house okay, take what ever you need in there but stay hidden, just incase." Kaiba said. "You understand Mokuba, this is very important."

Mokuba wiped his nose on his sleeve and nodded. Once Mokuba was all set, Kaiba grabbed his hand guns and a small pack, then ran out the door to the drop off area.

Claire strolled over to the edge of the building and looked at Mika's unmoving body. "Stupid bitch." She hissed. She may not have gotten the palm pilot, but at least she got the money. Claire waltzed over to the money and with a gentle sigh picked up several of the twenties. "So beautiful." She smiled. "The gang will be so proud of me" She squealed.

Just then she noticed the small jewelry looking box in the bottom of the basket. "What have we here?" She cooed to herself. She ran her fingers across the box. She flipped it over and read the inscription on the bottom. _To my one true love._

"Oooh, a gift for Mika? Perhaps jewelry? We'll she won't be needing it now." She popped open the small box and tons of pink smoke came pouring out. Claire screamed.

Kaiba tore down the street in his Lincoln till he reached the end of the street. He decided it was smart to walk from this point in case they thought she had back up and shot Mika. He walked to the street and and stopped only 30 feet from the building.

"Mika." He said in a raspy voice. He stared at the lifeless looking body on the ground. "No." His body was frozen, he couldn't move. He didn't want to believe it. "Mika!" He cried and ran to her.

Claire continued screaming till the cloud dissipated. She then looked at her skin and hair. It was all bright pink. She tried to run it off but it wouldn't come off. Paniking she looked into the box, the only thing left in the box was a carefully wrapped up note. It read very simply: NOW YOU REALLY ARE HOT PINK—With Love, Mika.

Claire screamed, even the money was pink, now useless to her. "That Bitch! That Bitch" She screamed and ran to the edge of the building."

"Mika!" Seto cried again.

Seto was within 15 feet of her and Claire nearly had her gun drawn when a black van sped out from no where. It wheeled in between Seto and Mika. A man in all black quickly jumped out of the back, grabbed Mika and dove back into the van.

"Wait, what are you doing with her!?" Seto cried. "Come back here you bastards. The van sped off without any explanation, and was quickly out of sight.

No. He though. This can't be happening. She wasn't dead, she couldn't have been. If she was, why would they take her body. Just to piss me off.

"She's dead Kaiba!" Claire called from the roof. "I shot her down off the roof! That little bitch got what was coming to her!"

Seto felt a deep range fill every space inside of him. He wanted to explode but he kept perfectly calm. For Mika. "Nice look Claire. The pink really brings out your eyes."

Claire was furious. "Die you bastard!" She yelled and took several shots at him. He managed to avoid them and dove into an ally.

Claire made a run down to the elevator and to the bottom floor. She ran out of the front of the building and across the street to the get away motorcycle.( Which was also pink). She despised the color now. As she sped out of the alley, Kaiba hopped out of his hiding spot and shot of the wheels. He hit the front one, causing her to spin out of control. He then charged at her laying on her side. He made it across before she drew her gun. Grabbing her by her hair he hissed "Where are they taking her?"

She laughed psychotically. "Who, the guys in the truck. Haven't the foggiest, they aren't my friends, I thought they were yours."

Kaiba couldn't believe such a the bitch was fibbing in her current situation. "Who do you work for and who are Crule2BU and Harper?"

She laughed again. "I can't tell, it's a secret."

He threw her to the ground and kicked her once. "I was told never to hurt a lady, but a whore like you won't be so lucky." He said. "Tell me"

Claire was pissed at his comment. "Have you even figured out WHY all this is happening?" She grinned from the pavement.

"Bunch of greedy little rats wanting my company." He replied.

"You know, money is a nice thing, but it's not the root of ALL evil." She cooed.

"Stop acting like you're clever you bitch." Seto said pointing his gun and her own down at her head.

"Think about it Kaiba, who besides yourself could have given you a bad enough name to piss so many people off and send them after you?" He sat silent for a moment and then it clicked. "Garbanzo."

"Bingo" She smiled.

"What did he do this time?" Seto now pissed that this was the answer.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, we still want your company and your money, and your technology, but it just didn't seem right to go in without an honorable cause."

"Killing people is honorable?"

"Details Details." She cooed.

Wait, a sec, she's being way to talky he thought.

FLASHBACK

"_Kaiba, if someone is ever singing like a canary but they aren't answering the questions you want, it's a distraction." Mika said._

"Mika" He whispered. "These bastards will pay, mark my word."

"And so will you." Said Claire, looking behind him.

He turned in time to see a group of thugs behind him. He grabbed Claire by the hair one last time. "I'll make you wish you were never born." He threw her back to the ground and ran down the alley before anyone could even touch him. He tore through the empty streets till he reached his car and sped off home. The only thing he could think about was Mika's body lying on the ground, motionless, dead, and now missing.

3 Days Later

Everyone sat in Kaiba's dinning hall. Once a place of celebration, the place that had held the committee party. it was now holing the funeral recession, for Mika. Everyone sat drinking coffee and talking, dressed in black, trying to find some cheerful things to discuss and few coming to mind. A large number of people were there, despite Mika saying before how few friends she had. All the bartenders, waitresses and DJ's from the club where there, Mika's little band posse, all her co-worker's from Kaiba corp, and many other's Kaiba did not know. Matt sat in the corner balling his eyes out.

"She was gorgeous." He said. "She never even got her chance!" He wailed. Joey tried his best to comfort the little drama queen as he balled. "I mean, she didn't even get a real funeral, how can you have a funeral without her being there? It's HER FUNERAL!" He wailed again. Joey continued comforting him. "Hey, can someone take him for a few minutes, he's soaking my shirt."

One of Matt's co-workers came and took him away. "Thanks." Joey said.

Joey walked over the Kaiba. He was sitting the corner, emotionless, running his fingers along the edge of the coffee cup.

"Hey man, how are ya?" Joey asked.

No response.

"I know this is probably really hard for you man, but she was just doing—"

"Don't finish that sentence." Seto snarled.

"what?"

"She wasn't just doing her job." Seto said.

"She went out to save your brother man, and she did."

"She didn't deserve to die!" He turned to Joey. Everyone was watching them now.

"She died to save him. I know she didn't deserve to die over this, but we all cared about her okay so stop being such an ass about it."

"Don't tell me what to do DOG." He shouted. He hadn't called Joey a dog in years, it actually surprised him that it came out.

Joey looked hurt. "Oh, I see how it is. Now that she's dead, you're just going back to being an ass. I mean, why would you want to be nice anyway, people actually liking to be around you and all, so unoriginal. You wanna be alone man, fine. Be alone. See how far that gets you!" Joey shouted, turned on his heel and left.

Everyone else just stood in shock. Seto glared at them all. "Well, you heard him, LEAVE ME ALONE!" He hissed.

Everyone filed out of the building, even Mokuba, knowing his brother needed the time alone.

Seto sat in the silence for what seemed like forever. The thoughts whirled so fast through his head that he didn't even know. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of glass. It was covered in dried blood and for only a moment was he confused. It was the glass he had pocketed from when he pulled it out of Mika's foot. It seemed so long ago and he's forgotten to remove it that night. He held the glass in his hand and could no longer hold it in. Why? Why did she have to die? He knew he should have went with her. The tears finally broke through and Kaiba fell to the floor. "No!" He shouted and half growled. "It's not right!" He chocked on the tears now trailing down his face. "Why did this happen?" He shouted at the floor. "She didn't deserve this!" The only response he got was the echo of his voice in the now empty room.


	17. Jinxed

Hey everyone. If you like this story, please review it, I'd like to know what people think as I'm developing the story. Constructive feedback is always welcome as well. I'm always trying to improve in my writing. Thanks!

CHAPTER 19

Seto stepped out of his car into the sunny daylight. He shielded his eyes as they adjusted, then headed towards the front door. As he got to the door, he spotted Mokuba sitting on the grass outside playing with something. As he got closer he realized it was a cat. "How did it get inside the gates?" Kaiba asked.

"I dunno" Mokuba replied, "But she sure is cute."

Seto stared at the cat for a moment. I had dark brown fur and faint tan stripes on it's back that looked much like a tiger. The cat came up to Kaiba and rubbed against his legs.

"Can we keep her?" Mokuba asked.

"I don't think so." Said Kaiba.

"Oh, please Seto, she has eyes just like---" He trailed off not wanting to finish.

"It probably belongs to someone." Seto said. He picked up the cat and examined the little collar around it's neck. "Who do you belong to?" Seto said aloud.

The cat simply replied with a big meow. Not even slightly amused by it, Seto pulled the collar and gently looked at the tags. The name JINX was written on the one side, when he flipped it over, Kaiba's blood ran cold. A Pair of Cat's Eyes, gleamed brightly on the other side of the coin. Mika's trademark symbol. He took the tags off the cat and held them in his hand.

"What's wrong Seto?" Mokuba tugged on his brother's trench coat. "Who's the owner?"

Seto couldn't speak. Was this Mika's cat? What was it doing here? Was it a sign? Was she alive?

"Seto?"

Seto shook his head to looked down at his little brother. "Let's take her inside and see about calling the owner. Seto walked into the house, and straight to the kitchen. He sat the cat down on the floor. He then headed down the hall to his office.

"I'll make it a snack." Mokuba said, running over to the fridge. "Now what would a little kitty like you want to eat.

Meow. The cat sat patiently as Mokuba pulled out some old fish for the cat. The cat gulped down the food quickly and gave a another meow.

"What? You want more? Okay then." Mokuba went back to the fridge and searched for more food. When he turned back the cat was gone.

"Kitty?" Mokuba said.

Seto sat in the office staring at the tags. The other tag had a number to call in case it was lost. Seto dialed the number and waited impatiently as the phone rang. It seemed to be taking forever and then there was a click.

"Hello, this is Mika Welsh, sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number---"

Seto dropped the phone. It was her cat! How did it get here? Why was it here? Seto felt his breath caught in his throat. His heart was pounding in his ears. His was rudely interrupted from his thoughts when jinx hopped up on the desk. She walked across the desk and stared at Seto. She really did have eyes like Mika, the intense green eyes pierced into his own. He gave the cat a gentle stroke and it continued to crawl across the desk. Seto watched the cat in almost a hypnotic state as it hopped from the desk to the shelf. The cat walked along the shelving till it found a tasseled book mark sticking out of the books. The cat batted at the tassel, finding it very interesting. The more it played with it, the more fascinating it seemed to be. Eventually it got so into the tassel that it became unaware of it's actually location and fell off the shelf.

"Merow!" The cat cried, just barely landing on it's feet. Seto stood up.

_The book. Was the book important?_

Seto walked over and pulled out the book. It was an old copy of the original Alice in Wonderland. He flipped through it quickly, but found nothing of interest. He sat down and sighed and flopped back into his chair. What an idiot he was being. He seemed to think the cat was some sort of super spy like Mika and was giving him clues. He'd officially lost it. He really needed to get back to what he knew best…and that was game making. His company needed to come first. Things made a lot more sense when the company had came first. Seto suddenly realized he was being stared down rather intently. The cat was actually back up on the desk staring directly at him. He spazed out a little upon realizing this but then just continued to stare at the cat.

"It's her cat…isn't it?" Mokuba said from the door.

"Mokuba."

"I could tell by the tags too." Mokuba said walking over and giving the cat a stroke. "I think we should take care of it for her."

Seto paused for a moment. "Fine." He said coldly. "You'll have to get it some real cat food though."

Mokuba smiled. "I will." He picked up the cat and walked out and down the hall. Seto leaned back into the chair and stared out the window. _You really have turned into a piece of work my friend._ He thought to himself. Seto took one last look at the book in his hand and then placed it down on the desk. He then picked up his laptop and headed up to his room to go take his mind off of everything with his work.

The night went on and Seto was actually making a lot of progress in his room. He'd manage to pretty much clear out his inbox and was now reviewing some old point of sales charts from the previous year. That's when he heard the jingle and felt the gentle thump. Seto had been laying on his stomach on his bed and was now looking over his shoulder at the cat, now happily dozing on his back. He was tempted to boot the thing sky high, but then it started to purr and the vibrations on his sore back we actually quite pleasant. "I'm giving you 10 minutes." He told the cat. The cat lifted his head briefly, gave a yawn, and then went back to napping on Seto's back. Seto then heard the sound of footsteps approaching. _I'm never going to get any work done at this rate._ Mokuba poked his head in the door. "Big brother?"

"What is it Mokuba?"

Mokuba came into the room holding a small ball of paper. "Well, the cat has been acting kind of funny."

"The carpet cleaner is under the sink." Seto said without looking up.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. It's just…this paper."

"What about it?"

"Well…I found it on the table and I tossed it in the garbage. But the moment I did that, the cat jumped into the garbage and fished it out. So I did it again. And the cat jumped in again."

"He must have thought it was a game."

"But she wouldn't stop. I tossed that thing in the garbage like 80 times."

"Shouldn't you be doing your homework rather than playing fetch with the cat?"

Mokuba's eyes dropped to the floor. "I'm sorry big brother." He set the ball of paper on his brother's night stand and excited the room. _I liked it when you smiled. You always smiled when she was around._

Seto looked over at the nightstand and the ball of paper, he then looked over his shoulder. "Time's up cat." He said, sitting up. The cat slowly slid onto the bed with a gentle thud. She then hoped off the bed and headed back out the door. Seto looked at the ball of paper again. Irritated, he picked up the ball of paper and unwrapped it. It read:

_Water Bottles, Eggs, Soup, Tortellini, Mushrooms, Ice Cream, Nacho Chips, Sausage, Tuna, Eggs, Romaine Lettuce. Then there was a random addition problem in the corner is scribbles that added up to 67. _

Seto rolled his eyes. _It's just a grocery list._ Seto then noticed the smell coming off the ball of paper. _What the hell is this smell? Perfume? _Seto turned back to his computer. "What the hell are you doing?!"

The cat was now rolling around on his back on the keyboard. Clearly enjoying the feel of the keys scratching into his back. The screen was changing in an uncontrollable fashion. "Get off of there!" He shouted, pushing the cat off the key board. Just as he did, the screen blanked. Seto glared at the cat, now sitting in the corner of his room. "If I lost anything on my computer, so help me I don't care whose cat you are, I'm going to stuff you and turn you into a throw pillow."

The cat meowed, which Seto seemed to only take it as an insult. He picked up his pillow and threw it at the cat. The cat ran. Seto slammed the computer lid shut, out of anger. He then turned back to the piece of paper in his hand. _Why is eggs on the list twice?_

Seto examined the paper in more detail. WBESTMICNCSTERL. _Jibberish._ He was about to toss it when he thought about it again. _What about only the first words? _He wrote it out again. WESTMINSTER. Seto's heart froze. _You've got to be kidding me!_ He then looked back at the number in the corner. 67…67 Westminster? Could that really be it?

Seto felt his heart sink into his toes. Was this a cruel joke? Seto dashed downstairs. _Did Mika really think that far ahead? Sent a paper, plant her cat nearby incase….this was ridiculous!_ But for some reason her couldn't let go of it. He had to be sure…if she was alive.

He grabbed hi coat and headed for the door. "Where are you going brother." Mokuba chased after him.

"Out"

"Can I come with you?"

"Not this time Mokuba."

"Is Mika alive?"

Seto froze at the door making a fist. "I don't know." And with that, he walked out the door. Mokuba stared out the window as Seto headed down the driveway in his car. Jinx now sat in the window as well and gave a soft meow. Mokuba pet the cat's head and continued to watch his brother as the car disappeared into the night.

Seto sped down the highway towards the location_?. Had he looked into this too much?_

At this point he didn't care. He was going to put his mind to rest for the last time. Even if it meant breaking into the place. He arrived at a dealership with the address and pulled into the parking lot. The place had been abandoned for quite some time. He walked up to the door and tried it…Locked. Now he was getting annoyed. Without any consideration for any potential alarm systems, he picked up a rock and smashed it through the glass door. There was no alarm. Probably disabled cause no one cared. He slid his hand through and unlocked the door. He stepped into the quite building, trying to avoid putting the glass into his shoes. It didn't show signs of anyone living there. He continued through the shop, room by room, but it showed no signs of life. _This is ridiculous._ He muttered to himself and turned on his heal to leave, but just then, he noticed the stream of light coming out of the room down the flight of stairs. _Was someone here?_ Seto slowly walked down the stairs. He drew out his gun, just to be safe. As he reached the bottom, he listened for any sounds…he couldn't hear any. Seto turned the knob and slowly opened the door. The room was now visible. There wasn't much in it. A table, a chair, some first aid supplies…and her. Propped up in the corner, was his one and only…

"Mika?" He half murmured.

Her body stirred and she lifted her head. "Seto?" She said groggily as she registered who it was. Her eyes then got big. "Seto!"

Seto took a step forward. His heart was fluttering like mad. She's alive! He couldn't believe it, but it was true. Just as he began to approach, he heard her scream. He then felt a hot sharp pain in the back of his head. "Wha?" His eyes began to close as he approached the floor, the last thing he saw, was Mika's horrified expression.

FLASHBACK to last week

Mika pressed her head into the concrete wall and gave out a cough. _SHIT that hurt!_ Mika reached up into the upper part of her cat suit and pulled out the bullet proof vest, that held the bullet in place, right above where her heart was. Despite the bullet not going in, it still had made a nasty wound. The armor had barely done the trick…but she was alive. Mika slowly lifted herself up and looked out the window. She'd predicted that if she was going to be shot, it would hit her in the hip, but she'd been way off. Hopefully Riley got there in time to pick it up before Claire could get a good look at the fake body. Close up, no one would have believed it was human especially if they got a good look at the face. It was a combination of rubber and a fully flexible manikin she'd put together. She'd dropped it off on the floor just before the roof, for an absolute emergency…which it had turned out, it was. When Mika dove off the roof, she'd rigged up a trick rope to grab hold of to pull herself in the window, at the same time, the manikin was right at the edge, and she'd pushed it off. She was impressed it had actually landed face down. As she peered out the window, she noticed a man in a trench coat approaching fast.

…_Seto.__I thought I told him not to come. Mokuba probably made it home and spooked the poor guy. Now he's looking at what he thinks is my corpse. I'm so Sorry Seto._

She could hear Claire damming her to hell up above. _Guess the colored smoke bomb worked._ She couldn't help but grin. Oh how she longed to see Claire all pretty in pink. She then heard the squeal of tires down below, and watched as Riley dove out of the car and picked up the body. _Such a reliable guy._ She'd have to buy him a drink later. She could then hear Claire up on the roof. "She's dead Seto…."

The rest was hard to make out. Whatever it was though, she was sure she'd kick her ass for it later. She so very badly wanted to go help Seto, but now the element of surprise was on their side, and with this wound from the bullet, not to mention her sprained shoulder from hitting the wall after diving over the roof, she was better off dead right now. She waited patiently till all the noise was gone, then she heard the sound of a car slowly driving down the road. She peered down and saw it was Riley's car again. _Perfect timing again._ She picked herself up and managed to get down and out of the building. She approached the car and opened it with the only good arm she had. Hopping in the back, she noted the dark shades and suit Riley was wearing. "Casual Friday?" She asked.

"It's Thursday." Riley responded as the car pulled away.

"I've been so caught up in things recently, I've really lost track of the time." She smiled. She turned to the dummy propped in the seat next to her. "Have we met before?" She said to the dummy.

"Always with the jokes."

"Keeps me young." She said, leaning back into the seat.

"Young isn't going to mean shit if you end up dead." Riley said.

"Yes Daddy." She cooed.

The rest of the drive was quite till they reached the safe house. "Why this safe house?" Mika asked.

"The last one was broken into and Mokuba was kidnapped, someone must have given them the details, so I decided we should go somewhere a little less well known."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that." Mina said. "What happened that day? How did they find you?"

"I have no idea, I'm pissed enough as it is about that. I go out to get the kid some food and the next thing I know, I come back and the security system has been disabled, the windows are smashed and the kid is gone. I've never had a case this weird. Honestly girl, getting involved with you is a lot of trouble."

"That's why they call me a Jinx."

"No that's your cat."

"They say pets are a lot like their owners."

"Fair enough."

By this point, they'd reached inside of the safehouse. Riley opened one of the cupboards and pulled out the med kit. "Let's take care of those wounds." He said, brining the kit over. Mika had pulled off the catsuit and now sat in a black tube top with the rest of the suit hanging around her waist. Riley inspected the wound. "Damn girl, there's shrapnel in it. We're going to have to pull that out."

Mika groaned. "I'm in enough pain already."

"Here." He said handing her a syringe. "Take this."

Mika recognized it. "Yeah, this is good, it will take the edge off the pain so I can pull it out."

"Exactly."

Mika held out her arm and tightened a rubber band around it in order to pop the vein out. She then placed the syringe into her arm and ejected the pain killer into her blood. She could almost feel the pain starting to melt off instantly.

"This stuff works great."

"Only the best." Riley gave her a warm smile. He then held out the tweezers and proceeded to pull out the shrapnel pieces he could.

"Ow…Ow…Shit…Ow. Are you taking out my heart too? Ow!"

"Quit being a baby…there, it's done. Was that so bad?"

"Yes." She pouted.

Riley put the med kit back. "You know he saw the body right?"

Mika paused. "Yeah."

"It's gonna tear him up inside if he thinks you're dead."

"I know."

"When are you going to let him know?"

"As soon as I kill the Sons a Bitches who keep trying to kill him."

"That could take a while sister."

"I know, but I have to do it. Those boys are too valuable to me. Besides, this surprise attack may be my last hope in actually getting these guys"

"Uh oh…someone got attached." Riley teased.

"You're a little late to be teasing me."

"I suppose your right."

Mika started to feel dizzy. "I'm think maybe I over did it today."

" Being held a gunpoint, diving off a building…sounds like a warm-up to me."

"I must be out of shape…I…hey is there any water."

"Sure, here." Riley tossed her a bottle from the shelf.

"Thanks." She opened it and took a swig. He fingers were starting to go numb. Her eyes got big. "Riley…you? How could you?" Mika was starting to fade.

Riley gave her a big smile and walked over to her. "I guess I'm just too cruel to be you."

Everything went dark.

END


	18. Chapter 18

Behind all the Masks- Chapter 18

Seto stared into the dark blackness surrounding him. It was like being enveloped into a thick heavy blanket. There was no sound; there was no light…nothing. Was he dead? Had what he had just seen been a dream? There was no explanation for anything now. The only thing he knew was he felt warm…very warm. There was safeness in this place despite its eerie darkness…yet he knew he should not be here. He had to get out…but where was out? He was not even sure which way was up…or if there was an up.

Just then, a gentle voice began to call out to him. "Seto…" It whispered.

Where was it coming from? It sounded so far away. "Seto…please…"

That voice is familiar…he wanted to see this person…he knew it but…

"Seto…please wake up."

_Wake up? I'm asleep?_

Seto focused his energy and tried to imagine opening his eyes, yet found there was no result. How was he supposed to get out of here?

"Seto…please…don't leave me here…"

Seto began to feel urgency inside him. Her voice was getting louder yet there was still no light.

"Seto…"

Seto tried to will the energy to wake up again…this time he felt something. Pain- and a lot of it. The back of his head began to throb with a searing heat and the warmth that had been surrounding him began to fade. He could feel something cool and smooth against his hands. _Was it the ground?_

"Seto" The voice called out again. This time it was louder, and the accent more distinct.

"Mika…" Seto whispered the words barely audible from his lips. He finally felt the heaviness of his eyelids and willed them to open. Upon opening them, he was met with a bright and glaring light, which caused him to shut them again quickly. The pain he had felt earlier was becoming much more prominent. "Uggg. My head." He moaned.

Suddenly, there was a sensation of warm heat on his neck and something pressing against him. "Thank god. You're awake." Mika whispered into his neck.

Seto finally opened his eyes fully to find Mika leaning on him. Her hands and feet were bound and she was sitting next to him on the floor. He looked at his own body and noticed he had also been tied into place. "Mika…" he whispered. "You're alive." He felt his chest tighten with a sort of combination of stress and relief that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Mika pulled away so she could look him in the eyes. "I'm so sorry I worried you. You shouldn't have come here though." She said. "How on earth did you find me anyways?"

Seto winced a little bit from the pain but gave her a slight smile. "You have a very clever cat. He found that note you left for me."

Mika gave him a confused look. "What note?" She asked.

"The grocery list with the code. It had your perfume on it." He said.

Mika shook her head. "No Seto, I left no such note. I never would have put you in danger like this."

Seto was confused now. "But…your cat…the note…it all points to you." He demanded. Seto leaned his head back into the wall, applying pressure to try to dull the pain that seemed to be getting worse by the second. "Dammit, it feels like I was hit in the head with a tire iron."

"Actually it was a bed pan. A little degrading I know, but it got the job done." Riley said as he walked into the room.

If looks could kill, Mika's stare would have killed Riley five times before he hit the ground.

"The note wasn't Mika's…as much as you may have wanted it to be. We knew you couldn't resist a little hope that your precious girl would still be alive. At first we thought Mokuba was your weakness but as it turns out, this girl is the real Achilles' heal." He strode over and leaned down smiling directly into Mika face. "Isn't that right kiddo?"

Mika spat in his face and continued to glare. "Traitorous pig! I can't believe I trusted you." She hissed.

Riley stood up with a laugh and wiped the spit away with his sleeve. "You had every right to think you could trust me girl. I've been your life line for a very long time. Never once gave you any indication I was your enemy." He strode back to the table in the room, picked up some files, and started flipping through. "But times change and so do people. Life is getting harder. Making an honest buck is nearly impossible. So I'm just going with the flow."

"So you really are that son of a bitch from the web conversations?" She asked.

Riley looked surprised. "So you really did manage to get your hands on those? I'll have to give Claire a good talking to about that. She was to make sure those files were erased. Careless careless…" He mused.

Just then, his pink sidekick strode through the door. "Speak of the powder-puff and she shall appear!" He teased.

"Shut the hell up Riley." Claire hissed, attempting to arrange her disheveled hair. She then turned her attention to the pair on the floor. "My my, what's the catch of the day?" She grinned.

"Did I mention pink really isn't your color Claire?" Mika replied with a half-cocked grin. Claire's face flushed and she charged at the woman on the floor.

"I'll kill you you…" She screamed as she ran forward. Riley hopped up quickly and grabbed her by the arm. "Calm down Claire…the big man wants these two alive, can't have you going around killing the prize."

Claire was seething with anger. She eventually brought herself down to a level of calm where Riley was comfortable enough to let her arm go. "I'd say count yourself lucky Mika but you're a dead woman anyways." She said, before walking over and taking a seat in the only available chair in the room.

Mika looked up at Seto who was on the verge of exploding. "I can't believe how much filth has made it into my company." He said.

Claire gave him a smug look. "Maybe you should get a better interview process Seti-poo." She cooed.

The only satisfaction Seto got was imagining what it would be like to smack that look right off of her face. "I hope this bites you both in the ass." He hissed.

"I don't see how it could. We have the king pawn, his queen, his company…it's just a matter of time before everything is in place. Your company and all the money with it will be ours in no time." Riley smiled.

"Money. It's always about freaking money with the bad guys." Mika sighed shaking her head.

"What's wrong with money?" Claire asked.

"Oh nothing…I just hate the lack of originality most bad guys seem to have. You know: 'All the money, rule the world, that sort of thing.' It would just be refreshing to have there be a different reason for once." She said.

"This is no time to be making jokes." Seto said, giving her a dirty look.

"Sorry…it's how I cope." She replied with a shrug.

"Can't we just knock them out until the others arrive?" Claire whined.

There was a knock on the door.

"I will admit, for bad guys, you do have impeccable timing though." Mika mused.

The door slid open and in walked another man. Mika's eyes grew wide. "Matt!" She cried.

The goofy brunette gave her a friendly wave. "Hey there Mika my dear. Good to see you again."

"You son of a bitch!" She hissed, writhing against her restraints.

"Aren't reunions great Mika. Such nostalgia." Riley smiled, enjoying the look of frustration on his old teammates face.

"So I guess that just leaves one question…who's the big guy?" Seto asked.

Matt gave him an amused look then turned to his associates. "You mean, you guys haven't told them yet?" He asked.

Claire shook his head. "I think the surprise will be better when the boss gets here." She said.

"True true. Gives it a real sense of drama." Matt flared his arms.

"Go to hell you pixie." Seto hissed. He wasn't sure what made him more mad: The fact that it seemed like 90% of his staff were a bunch of con artists, or that he had to sit and watch his staff rob him while he was chained up like a dog.

Matt looked over with a frown. "You never were much for the theater were you Mr. Kaiba?" he said.

"No…I'm just not big on having my company and everything I've worked for in my life stripped from me." He replied.

"Worked for? Ha!" Claire snorted. "You may be work obsessed Seto…but you certainly didn't earn this life of yours. You were Garbanzo's little lottery draw and you got lucky."

"My childhood is none of your concern." He growled.

"Easy Seto…she's just trying to get the best of you." Mika whispered, pressing into his side trying to comfort him.

"We'll let's not keep you waiting any longer shall we?" Matt smiled. "The big guy came with me; he was just running a little behind." Matt opened the door to the room and stuck his head out. "Hey boss, the little lady would like to see you now." He shouted.

The sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. They were heavy.

"We'll it's a man based on the foot pattern." Mika said half to Seto.

"Or some really fat woman." He replied.

"Now whose making poorly timed jokes?" She chide.

The footsteps finally ceased and the door was pushed open all the way. The light paled across the man's face. He was older and had stale blue eyes and tough leathery looking skin. He gave a small smile and looked down at Mika. "Hello love." He said softly.

Mika felt her blood run cold. Nothing made sense anymore. Was her whole life a lie? Was there nothing left she could trust? "No…no it can't be." She stuttered.

The old man looked amused but said nothing. Seto turned to look at Mika whose face gave off the message that her entire world had just come crashing down. "Mika? What's wrong? Who is this guy?" He asked.

"She seems a little flustered. It has been a while since we last met. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Charlie." The old man said.

END OF CHAPTER

I know, it's an evil cliffy, but it's the best place to stop for the moment. I promise to update it again soon and not like another year later from now like last time. Reviews are welcome and appreciated.


	19. War and Peace

Behind all the Masks

CHAPTER 19

Mika held back the hot tears that were slowly rising up in her eyes. Riley betraying her was one thing, but this…this was just becoming too much. Charlie was practically family!

"Charlie? Charlie this can't be." Mika said, her voice cracking a little as she spoke.

The older man looked down at her with soft loving eyes. "I'm afraid it is love."

Seto looked at the man and then back at Mika, unsure what to make of things. "Someone mind telling me what the hell is going on?" He asked.

Mika turned towards Seto, trying even harder now to hold back the tears she was fighting. "Seto…" She murmured. "This is Charlie."

There was a brief pause. When Seto realized she wasn't going to continue he pressed on. "Who's Charlie?"

"Remember on our drive, we stopped at that house to patch you up after the accident? That was…that was this man's house. My old partner…" She said, her voice trailing off at the end. This was the first time Seto had ever seen defeat in this girl's eyes.

"And we were one hell of a team weren't we? You, me, Riley and Helen! We were unstoppable!" The man reminisced.

The mention of those names caused a light to flicker in Mika's eyes. She snapped her neck in Charlie's direction. "Helen. Helen was killed! If this was all your doing, why did Helen die?" She asked.

"The same reason you are in the situation you are right now. She found out too much and got too involved." He said, grabbing the lone chair in the room and spinning it around to sit in. "I couldn't compromise the mission love."

Mika's eyes went wide with horror. "You…you killed your own wife? I thought you loved her more than the sun. You always used to say that to her!"

The man shook his head. "I did. I loved her more than I can put into words. Nevertheless, you know better than anyone I wouldn't compromise a mission. Helen found out about my little plan to take down Kaiba Corp. and even found out you were working there. She insisted that I end this plan immediately since you would likely be caught in the crossfire. I was so far in though, and everything was falling into place so nicely. Even you."

Mika wretched against her ties and screamed as loud as she could. "You son of a bitch! I'll kill you! That woman! She loved you! She trusted you! I trusted you! All this? You would kill her just for money?"

The man gave her a surprised look. "Money? My dear, my companions might be in it for the money but I have far greater plans than that."

"Looks like you got your wish Mika." Matt piped up. Riley gave him a punch in the shoulder, indicating now was not the appropriate time to be teasing people.

Charlie stood up from the chair and came over to her side.

"Why? Why kill your own wife though. Nothing could be so valuable you had to kill her." Mika protested.

The man lowered his head speaking a little more softly. "Believe me dear, if it had been my way, I would have kept you both out of this situation, but fate just wouldn't allow that. Mind you, I'm not as heartless as you might think. I certainly couldn't kill the woman I loved on my own, so I hired that goon whose foot you put a few holes through up to do it. Lousy fighter he is, but I honestly didn't think you'd go out of your way to go to my home. Should have thought it through a bit more I guess. I got a little nervous when I noticed you took that coin."

Mika looked up even more confused. "The coin?" She asked.

The man chuckled. "So you didn't figure it out. I assumed Helen sent you to the case for it before she died. We left odd trinkets around our home as messages in the occurrence one of us became incapacitated. My dear…did you even look at the coin?"

Mika thought it over carefully in her head. She could picture herself back in the destroyed house, flipping the coin in her fingers. "Two faces…she was ratting you out." Mika said softly. How could she have missed such an obvious message? She'd been so wrapped up in the name on the match box, she hadn't even thought over the possible meaning of the coin.

Seto was starting to get annoyed. These people had dragged him high and low, made his life a miserable wreck, were about to take everything from him and now Mika was crying. "What do you son of a bitches want?" He hissed. "If it's the money, fine. I will pay you whatever you want. Just let us go. I've had enough of this crap."

Charlie looked back at his team and grinned. "Now Seto, if it were that easy, we'd just ask for the money. No no. I do not just kill my loving wife over some stupid sum of money. Seto, I want your entire company, all it's shares and all it's connections. Seto, do you even understand the potential of your own company?"

"No, but I have a terrible feeling you're going to tell me." He said.

"You've done a terrific job building up this empire of yours. It is really quite marvelous. Through the years, you have not only acquired a copious profit, but a number of influential allies. Particularly, you have connections with a number of technology research giants. Some of the best in the business. However, you only utilize their abilities for that childish computer technology of yours. No Seto, I want the money and those connections. I was to access the technology opportunities you have yet to truly tap into."

"What's so great about having access to some technology research experts?" Mika asked.

The man stood up as if his next words would shake the foundation of the room. "I'm going to end the war."

"That war?" Seto repeated.

"Seto, this is a world that is in pain. It is ill with fighting, suffering and oppression in every country. I've seen it all through my years of service and with your help; I can make it all end." The man walked over to the table, picking up the files Riley had been shuffling through earlier. "Mika obviously didn't tell you much about me but I'm the weapon's expert of our former squad. I have developed explosive, automated weapons…things you have never even dreamed of. But I need to take it to the next level. Technology is one of the most rapid growing industries out there, yet to play with the big dogs, you need the money and influence. That I most certainly lack. If I can get in with the technology giants you have at your disposal, and use your nearly limitless funding to my whim, I will be able to create the weapon I have just been waiting for. The one that will end all wars." He smiled.

"How will killing more people some super weapons end wars?" Mika demanded. "Your plan makes no sense."

The man turned back to her, a demonic glint in his eyes. "Who's going to want to fight, if they are afraid of dying?" He asked. "My weapon will be capable to disarming all electronic warfare for miles, will be able to assault countries across the seas and will be able to topple a civilization as if it were a house of cards. I will create peace…through fear."

"That's not real peace." Seto said. "You're demented."

The man lifted a curious eyebrow. "Real peace? No such thing. If you want peace, you have to make it. I'm going to end the fighting. I'm going to end it all. I tried to explain it to Helen but she just couldn't comprehend the majesty of it. It appears I have evolved beyond her understanding."

Mika leaned over to Seto. "I think Charlie's flipped his lid." He whispered.

"You know what?" Seto called out to the crew of con artists in the room. "I don't give a rats ass about your little plan. There's no way I'm turning my company over to you. If you kill me, I've already made the appropriate arrangements. You won't get a cent of it." Seto hissed.

"You think you're death is going to stop us? On the contrary. You see, that's why I have this fabulous team here." Charlie smiled, gesturing to the group around him. "Claire here knows your systems inside and out, so accessing information won't be hard. Riley is a highly trained assassin who will remove any of your remaining loyal followers or anyone who dares to ask too many questions. And Matt here, being the fantastic actor he is, will be taking your place. You see, we know there is no way to take over your company with you still in power and there is no way we can have it if you are dead. But if say you finally came around through a little influence…" The man drifted off looking back at Matt.

Matt cleared his throat. "Attention staff, Seto Kaiba speaking. Kaiba Corp will be taking on a major image change in order to match up with current market needs. Effective immediately, all game development is to cease and desist."

Claire turned back to the pair. "Not bad huh?" She smiled.

"You people make me sick." Seto growled.

"You people make me sick." Matt mimicked.

"Shut the hell up!" Seto snapped back.

"He doesn't even look like him." Mika pointed out.

"Nothing a little plastic surgery and a haircut won't fix." The ever so cheery Claire added in.

"For the good of the theater!" Matt said, adding a little drama with his hands.

"And a hefty paycheck." Riley said, getting a grin out of the scruffy-haired actor.

"Charlie." Mika cut back in. "I don't understand. How? How did this happen? When did you start acting this way?"

The man's eyes became a little colder. "My dear…I'm still the same man I was before. I'm just taking a different approach at the same mission." He said. He then walked over to his team and put on a cheery smile. "Well then folks. Shall we take them to the drop site?"

Claire smiled back at him. "Sure thing Charlie baby!"

"God you'll flirt with anything." Mika sighed.

Claire's short temper flared and she stormed over to the tied up woman. She swung her foot back to kick her in the ribs. "Go to hell you James Bond Bit-", she nearly made contact, but was roughly picked up by the waist before she could land a hit.

"That's enough Claire." Riley said, carrying the screaming woman out.

"Put me down! Put me down! Put me down!" She screamed all the way up the stairs.

Seto turned to Mika sitting next to him, hoping for her to give him the answers he needed right now. The woman beside him looked so lost and so defeated though. He likely needed to give her the answers she needed. Seto did the only thing he could think of. He leaned over and placed his head on top of hers. Mika shifted slightly under the touch but pressed into his side, indicating she was open to whatever contact he could offer.

The world just seemed so upside-down today.

END OF CHAPTER 19

A little darker than most of my chapters but now you know our bad boys motives. The grand conclusion will be coming up soon .Thanks for reading and I apologize to the people that have been waiting for an update. I barely have time to write the things I'm graded for in class, let alone this. But I love you all, so I procrastinate for your sake.

Cheers

Lila


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